IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Stock Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd cut its stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,386 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd owned about 0.07% of California Water Service Group worth $1,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.8 %

CWT opened at $46.41 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.61. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CWT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.