Zacks Research Has Bullish Estimate for CWT Q1 Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for California Water Service Group in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.19 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.17. 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $0.43 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.50 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.56 EPS.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America began coverage on California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT stock opened at $46.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $41.64 and a 1-year high of $56.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth $377,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth about $588,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth about $227,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at about $417,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is an increase from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.70%.

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.