PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 8.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 64,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in California Water Service Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CWT opened at $46.01 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.84.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.