California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,654 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.15% of California Water Service Group worth $3,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CWT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $32,736,000 after purchasing an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $29,392,000 after purchasing an additional 36,142 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,747,000 after buying an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 288,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,097,000 after buying an additional 11,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

CWT stock opened at $45.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.62.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released 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). The business had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

California Water Service Group Profile

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.