Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,571 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 70,642 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.28% of California Water Service Group worth $8,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Sonen Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $111,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CWT. TheStreet downgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.24. 285,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,478. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.47. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $58.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.40) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 106.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

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.