First National Corp MA ADV Sells 3,041 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

First National Corp MA ADV lowered its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,041 shares during the quarter. First National Corp MA ADV owned approximately 0.06% of California Water Service Group worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CWT. State Street Corp boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,140,204 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,387,000. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 479,457 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 440,751 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 292,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 26,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,825.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $46.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.44 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $44.83 and a 52-week high of $61.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.67.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $214.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.41 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.84%.

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.