Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 555 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 555 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $2,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,765,000 after buying an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,559,000 after buying an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $585,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after buying an additional 48,055 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock opened at $46.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.59. 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 one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.