Sei Investments Co. Sells 12,598 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,598 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CWT. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CWT traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 56,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,697. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.01 and a 200 day moving average of $48.05.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

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.