Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for CWT Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for California Water Service Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.19 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $222.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT opened at $47.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.13. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,384,000 after purchasing an additional 113,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.70%.

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.