New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.10% of California Water Service Group worth $2,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 782.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 184,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,545,000 after buying an additional 163,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,499,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE CWT opened at $50.73 on Tuesday. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.40) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.80%.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $111,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,650. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

About California Water Service Group

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.