Nuance Investments LLC Has $88.58 Million Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Nuance Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,633,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,041,933 shares during the quarter. California Water Service Group accounts for 3.0% of Nuance Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned 2.75% of California Water Service Group worth $88,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $119,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.08. 199,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 323,858. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

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.