Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for CWT Q3 Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of California Water Service Group in a research report issued on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.21 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.22. 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 FY2026 earnings at $2.52 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $55.00 price target on California Water Service Group in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $55.00.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $46.22 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.29 and a 12 month high of $51.63.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.17). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 13.61%.The firm had revenue of $311.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amundi boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 19.4% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,276,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,318,000 after purchasing an additional 369,430 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,764,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,971,000 after buying an additional 35,844 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,417,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,458,000 after buying an additional 14,183 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,404,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,444,000 after buying an additional 59,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 760,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,888,000 after acquiring an additional 53,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) is a publicly traded holding company that provides regulated water utility services through its subsidiaries. The company delivers safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater management to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across California, Hawaii and New Mexico. Its principal operating units include California Water Service, New Mexico Water Service and Hawaii Water Service, each responsible for end‐to‐end water supply operations—from source development and treatment to distribution and customer service.

Founded in 1926 as the California Water Service Company, the group has grown to become one of the largest investor‐owned water utilities in the United States by customer count.