Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Estimate for CWT Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for California Water Service Group in a report released on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $3.18 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.30. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group’s current full-year earnings is $3.16 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for California Water Service Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.24 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.42 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.61 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.32 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.38 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS.

CWT has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $42.84 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.50. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. California Water Service Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 255.6% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 50.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth about $85,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth about $119,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.