Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 53.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 34,929 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.05% of California Water Service Group worth $1,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 93,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,084,000 after buying an additional 45,825 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 297.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 16,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 28,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 6,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CWT shares. Bank of America started 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 on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,105,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,767. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.84. California Water Service Group has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS 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 company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 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.