What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for CWT Q1 Earnings?

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of California Water Service Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $0.19 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $222.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CWT. Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, California Water Service Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE CWT opened at $47.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.09. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $41.64 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 144.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 5,684 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 257,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 42,926 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 19,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in California Water Service Group in the 4th quarter worth about $602,000. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.