Versor Investments LP Sells 2,117 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Versor Investments LP cut its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,117 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. 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 shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth $239,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $241,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT stock opened at $46.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.52. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

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

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. 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 payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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