Global Retirement Partners LLC Sells 317 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Global Retirement Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in California Water Service Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in California Water Service Group by 8.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock opened at $45.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.76 and its 200 day moving average is $49.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25.

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

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Company 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.