Nuance Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Nuance Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,490,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 143,525 shares during the quarter. California Water Service Group accounts for approximately 2.7% of Nuance Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned 2.51% of California Water Service Group worth $67,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

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California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE:CWT traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 552,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,661. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $45.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.51. 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 - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a boost 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%.

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.