California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 60.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,663 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CWT. FMR LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,450,000 after buying an additional 26,299 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,765,000 after acquiring an additional 57,811 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 9,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 2.8 %

California Water Service Group stock traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.84. 103,371 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 338,698. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.09.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is 36.70%.

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.