California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 70.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,124 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at $37,998,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 308,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,994,000 after purchasing an additional 147,043 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in California Water Service Group by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,747,000 after buying an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth about $4,763,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised 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 Price Performance

California Water Service Group stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.00. 109,006 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,647. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.59. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.63%.

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.