FY2024 EPS Estimates for California Water Service Group Increased by Seaport Res Ptn (NYSE:CWT)

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for California Water Service Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $3.26 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.25. The consensus estimate for California Water Service Group’s current full-year earnings is $2.59 per share.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CWT. UBS Group raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CWT opened at $47.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.31. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.49.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.00. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $270.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.85 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.40) earnings per share. California Water Service Group’s revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California Water Service Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,614,000. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,175,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,936,000 after buying an additional 479,457 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,877,000 after buying an additional 270,786 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 28.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,096,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,867,000 after buying an additional 240,944 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 782.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 184,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,545,000 after buying an additional 163,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

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.