Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 27,219 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,219 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $340,642,000 after buying an additional 158,295 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,559,000 after acquiring an additional 24,275 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,998,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,736,000 after purchasing an additional 11,205 shares during the period. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 648,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,392,000 after purchasing an additional 36,142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

California Water Service Group Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $48.26 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.69 and a 200 day moving average of $48.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. 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 (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.