California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 62.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,060 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,728 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,607,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,998,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CWT traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 216,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,453. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $48.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.62. 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 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $194.80 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CWT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group 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.