California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,490,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 143,525 shares during the quarter. California Water Service Group makes up 2.7% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 2.51% of California Water Service Group worth $67,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CWT. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Boston Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $45.48 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.53 and a 200-day moving average of $48.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America began coverage on California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from 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.