Green Alpha Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Green Alpha Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Green Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWT. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at about $85,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth about $119,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 3.2 %

California Water Service Group stock opened at $41.88 on Monday. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.36 and a 200 day moving average of $51.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

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.