California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 77.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 189,396 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.10% of California Water Service Group worth $3,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,093,000 after buying an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 40.8% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,013,749 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $140,079,000 after purchasing an additional 872,865 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,609,000 after purchasing an additional 232,344 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the first quarter worth about $7,957,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $6,823,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $30,153.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,750.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,665 shares of company stock valued at $90,093. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE CWT traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $51.09. The company had a trading volume of 279,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,187. 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 capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.36 and a 200 day moving average of $51.62. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. 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 is currently 32.37%.

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.