Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 87,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,654 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $3,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,582,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $45.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.62.

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). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CWT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.