What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for CWT FY2024 Earnings?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of 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 per share of $3.31 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.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Up 1.0 %

CWT stock opened at $51.41 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $43.50 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,609,000 after acquiring an additional 232,344 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,559,000 after purchasing an additional 24,275 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,711 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in California Water Service Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,548,000 after purchasing an additional 48,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.