California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,929 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of California Water Service Group worth $1,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $46.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.94. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed 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 objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

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.