Seaport Res Ptn Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CWT Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) - Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of California Water Service Group in a report issued on Friday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.78 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.83. Seaport Res Ptn has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group's current full-year earnings is $3.15 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for California Water Service Group's FY2028 earnings at $3.05 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $54.67.

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California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.4 %

CWT stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $50.81. 328,883 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.88 and a 200-day moving average of $48.04. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $41.64 and a 52-week high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CWT. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 751.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 785.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.