Cullen Capital Management LLC Sells 7,663 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Cullen Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 60.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,663 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $48.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.20 and a 200-day moving average of $48.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 36.70%.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.