Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 14,541 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,541 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of California Water Service Group worth $13,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CWT. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter worth approximately $670,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,823,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 1st quarter valued at $535,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,021,000 after purchasing an additional 31,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3,683.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 30,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 29,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total transaction of $29,409.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,251,411.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $82,815.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.99, for a total transaction of $29,409.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,251,411.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,874 shares of company stock valued at $202,318. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $55.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $55.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.53 and its 200 day moving average is $49.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

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.