Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 645 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CWT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,491,000 after buying an additional 25,711 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 693,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,605,000 after purchasing an additional 19,118 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 572,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,753,000 after purchasing an additional 10,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 79.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,709,000 after buying an additional 112,118 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered California Water Service Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $51.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

About California Water Service Group

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.