California Water Service Group $CWT Stock Holdings Trimmed by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 78.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 43,988 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.9% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 114,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,220,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in California Water Service Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,458,000 after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares during the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 396,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,028,000 after purchasing an additional 30,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,516,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 target price on California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $45.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.69. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $51.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.33.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $311.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.35 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.40%.

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.