California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Twinbeech Capital LP

Twinbeech Capital LP lessened its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 91.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 65,663 shares during the period. Twinbeech Capital LP's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 182,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,259,000 after buying an additional 34,831 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 102.1% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 101,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,601,000 after buying an additional 51,283 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 317,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,389,000 after buying an additional 15,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $46.39. 60,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 379,694. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $48.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.27. 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 current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70.

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

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.