Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Sells 920 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lowered its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $3,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in California Water Service Group by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,369,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $298,288,000 after buying an additional 1,140,204 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,387,000. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,175,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,936,000 after buying an additional 479,457 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in California Water Service Group by 2,396.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,706,000 after buying an additional 440,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in California Water Service Group by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,135,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,439,000 after buying an additional 292,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock traded down $0.21 on Thursday, reaching $46.46. The stock had a trading volume of 255,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,978. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.20 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $44.83 and a 1 year high of $61.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.66.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.98). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 6.53%. The firm had revenue of $214.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 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 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 125.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CWT shares. TheStreet downgraded California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on California Water Service Group from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total value of $28,804.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,825.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.