Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Rating) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 996 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 124,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,522,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,591,000. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 201.6% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 20,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 13,764 shares during the period. 79.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $56.23 on Wednesday. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $48.46 and a 1-year high of $66.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.86.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.13. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 5.69%. The company had revenue of $200.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 8th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other news, VP Robert J. Kuta sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.79, for a total value of $56,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,499.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

About California Water Service Group

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California Water Service Group is a holding company, which engages in provision of water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The firm 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.