Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,873 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of California Water Service Group worth $15,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 7.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $241,000. Old Port Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,280.59. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of CWT opened at $50.99 on Friday. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $56.25. 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 capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.83.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.37%.

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.