Praxis Investment Management Inc. Has $258,000 Stock Holdings in California Water Service Group $CWT

Praxis Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,017,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,769,000 after purchasing an additional 527,343 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $21,562,000. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,728,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 204.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 315,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after buying an additional 211,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,692,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CWT opened at $48.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.34 and its 200-day moving average is $46.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.53. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $54.08.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $264.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 8.28%. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is 52.40%.

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.