Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for CWT FY2024 Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for California Water Service Group in a research report issued on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst J. Saha now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $3.31 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $3.36. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group’s current full-year earnings is $3.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for California Water Service Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.13 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.63 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.40 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.48 EPS.

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

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1 %

California Water Service Group stock opened at $50.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.65 and its 200 day moving average is $51.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 8.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio 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.