Zacks Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for CWT

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised its Q3 2026 earnings per share estimate for California Water Service Group to $1.25, slightly up from $1.23, with a full-year estimate set at $3.15.
• The company's recent earnings report exceeded expectations, with a reported $0.71 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.46, and revenue of $264.95 million.
• California Water Service Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, providing an annualized yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 52.40%.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for shares of California Water Service Group in a report released on Wednesday, August 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the utilities provider will earn $1.25 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.23. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group's current full-year earnings is $3.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for California Water Service Group's Q4 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $0.27 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on California Water Service Group from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded up $0.06 on Monday, reaching $46.93. The company had a trading volume of 250,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,332. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $46.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.98. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $41.64 and a 1 year high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $264.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.20 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.71%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 52.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total transaction of $55,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,029,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,824,000 after purchasing an additional 67,002 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,907,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $91,386,000 after acquiring an additional 16,346 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,458,000 after acquiring an additional 14,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 985,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,740,000 after acquiring an additional 56,993 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.