Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook of CWT FY2024 Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for California Water Service Group in a research note issued on Thursday, January 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $3.18 per share for the year, down from their previous 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.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CWT. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CWT stock opened at $42.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.50. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.17. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in California Water Service Group by 4,565.4% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,053,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,103 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,709,000 after acquiring an additional 112,118 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 135.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 68,914 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,724,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 354.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 76,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 59,956 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.