Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,263,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,715 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.13% of California Water Service Group worth $57,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth about $37,998,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,642,000 after acquiring an additional 158,295 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 308,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,994,000 after purchasing an additional 147,043 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,747,000 after purchasing an additional 110,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth $4,704,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:CWT opened at $50.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.13 and a 200 day moving average of $47.88.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 36.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

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.