Nuance Investments LLC cut its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Rating) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 553,287 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 149,263 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC owned 1.03% of California Water Service Group worth $32,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellevest Inc. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.2% in the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 518 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Column Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3,973.3% in the first quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at about $103,000. UMB Bank N A MO acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $182,000. 80.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE CWT traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $58.62. 489 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,558. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.50. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $48.46 and a 1-year high of $72.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.24). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 7.39% and a net margin of 10.69%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 8th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

California Water Service Group Profile

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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.

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