California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Teton Advisors Inc.

Teton Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,877,000 after purchasing an additional 270,786 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,175,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,936,000 after purchasing an additional 479,457 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,570,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,313,000 after purchasing an additional 47,266 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,249,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,789,000 after purchasing an additional 10,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,096,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,867,000 after purchasing an additional 240,944 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $111,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.3 %

CWT stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,137. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 0.47. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $58.30.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 10.09%. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.40) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.80%.

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.