<div id="readability-page-1"><ul><li>Top 3 Utilities Stocks Powering Up as Recession Fears Rise</li></ul><p>California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for California Water Service Group in a report issued on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.21 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast 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.</p><p>California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $311.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.35 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 13.61%.California Water Service Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. </p><ul><li>Dividend Aristocrats or Dividend Kings: Which Is Best for You?</li></ul><p>CWT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings  reaffirmed a &#34;hold (c)&#34; rating on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird  set a $55.00 price objective on California Water Service Group in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one  has assigned  a Buy rating and one  has assigned  a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of &#34;Buy&#34; and an average target price of $55.00.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Report on CWT</b></p><h2>California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.1%</h2><p>CWT opened at $44.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.66. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.29 and a twelve month high of $51.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. </p><h2>California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is presently 52.40%. </p><h2>Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group</h2><p>Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of  California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter.  Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in  California Water Service Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter.  California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in  California Water Service Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,475,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter.  Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in  California Water Service Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of  California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>Key Headlines Impacting California Water Service Group</h2><p>Here are the key news stories impacting California Water Service Group this week:</p><ul>   <li><span>Positive Sentiment: </span>Zacks raised 2027 quarterly outlooks for CWT — notably Q3 2027 to $1.32 (from $1.28) and smaller raises for Q2 2027 and Q1 2027 — indicating Zacks sees stronger earnings further out, which could support valuation if trend continues. <i></i><span>MarketBeat CWT</span></li>    <li><span>Positive Sentiment: </span>Zacks also lifted its Q2 2026 estimate to $0.69 (from $0.66), a near-term upward revision that may offset some downside risk for that quarter. <i></i><span>MarketBeat CWT</span></li>    <li><span>Neutral Sentiment: </span>Analyst comparison piece weighs CWT versus American Water Works (AWK) for value investors — useful context for relative valuation and peer positioning but not an immediate catalyst. <i></i><span>CWT vs. AWK: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?</span></li>    <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>Zacks trimmed its Q3 2026 EPS estimate slightly to $1.21 (from $1.22) and lowered FY2026 EPS to $2.52 (from $2.53) — the moves are small but signal modest downward revision risk to consensus near-term earnings. <i></i><span>MarketBeat CWT</span></li>    <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>More material cuts: Zacks reduced Q4 2026 to $0.39 (from $0.43) and cut Q4 2027 to $0.32 (from $0.40) — these downward adjustments to later-year quarters are a clearer negative signal for forward earnings visibility. <i></i><span>MarketBeat CWT</span></li> </ul><h2>About California Water Service Group</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>California Water Service Group <span>NYSE: CWT<span></span></span> 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.  </p><p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than California Water Service Group</li><li>“Ominous day” coming to stocks…</li><li>Punch these codes into your ordinary brokerage account</li><li>The Crash Has Already Started (Most Just Don’t See It Yet)</li><li>Trump Planning to Use Public Law 63-43: Prepare Now</li><li>A month before the crash</li></ul> <p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/EarningsEstimatesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNXVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="325" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/EarningsEstimatesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNXVA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in California Water Service Group Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider California Water Service Group, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and California Water Service Group wasn't on the list.</p><p>While California Water Service Group currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Zacks Research has downgraded its Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) from $1.22 to $1.21. The consensus for the full-year earnings is $3.15 per share. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.17. CWT's stock opened at $44.55, with a market cap of $2.65 billion and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Institutional investors hold 82.78% of the stock, reflecting strong interest in the utilities provider.</p>

Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for CWT Q3 Earnings