Legal & General Group Plc Sells 16,045 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 553,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,045 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.93% of California Water Service Group worth $25,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.67.

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California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.81. The company had a trading volume of 328,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,654. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.04. 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 market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.