Focus Partners Wealth Reduces Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Focus Partners Wealth decreased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,202 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CWT. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in California Water Service Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CWT. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.46 on Wednesday, reaching $46.59. 25,844 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 331,336. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.44 and a 200 day moving average of $47.27. 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 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. California Water Service Group's revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 52.63%.

About California Water Service Group

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.