Seaport Res Ptn Has Negative Outlook of CWT FY2027 Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) - Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their FY2027 EPS estimates for California Water Service Group in a research note issued to investors on Friday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.78 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.83. Seaport Res Ptn currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group's current full-year earnings is $3.15 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for California Water Service Group's FY2028 earnings at $3.05 EPS.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS.

CWT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $54.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $50.82. 342,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,160. The company's 50-day moving average is $47.25 and its 200 day moving average is $48.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,559,000 after buying an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 5,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

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.