Prudential Financial Inc. Has $6.18 Million Holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 92,550 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $6,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $48.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.69 and a 200-day moving average of $48.47. 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 has a one year low of $41.64 and a one year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CWT. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Company 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.