Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of California Water Service Group worth $1,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CWT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 64.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $47.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.85 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.31.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 6.53%. The business’s revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.40) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid 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 2.34%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 125.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CWT. UBS Group upgraded 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 note on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TheStreet downgraded California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.25.

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.