Zacks Research Has Positive Forecast for CWT Q2 Earnings

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for California Water Service Group in a note issued to investors on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.79 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.78. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group’s current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for California Water Service Group’s Q3 2026 earnings at $1.33 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.56 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.71 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.35 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.76 EPS.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $214.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.27 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share.

CWT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

California Water Service Group Price Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $42.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.79. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.29 and a 12-month high of $50.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 3,195,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 31,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 31,956 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 277,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,723,000 after buying an additional 35,627 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 178,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,191,000 after buying an additional 23,622 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 worth $64,444,000 after buying an additional 59,404 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,722,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael S. Mares, Jr. sold 3,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $171,248.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,100. This represents a 31.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael B. Luu sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.53, for a total transaction of $32,952.20. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 23,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,357.15. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.00%.

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.