California Water Service Group’s CWT subsidiary, Hawaii Water Service (Hawaii Water), has finalized an agreement to acquire Kukui’ula South Shore Community Services’ (“KSSCS”) wastewater system assets. This deal will expand Hawaii Water’s operation on The Garden Isle.

Hawaii Water will now own and operate the collection-only wastewater utility, which provides services to nearly 440 residential, commercial and resort customers. This water service plans to invest in the local wastewater infrastructure, going forward to help in keeping the system safe and reliable for customers’ needs and protect the environment.

California Water through its subsidiaries keeps on making strategic acquisitions, which expand operations and create new revenue sources.

Fragmented Industry Needs Consolidation

Per the American Society of Civil Engineers, nearly 50,000 community water systems and 16,000 wastewater treatment systems in the United States are presently providing water solutions to customers.

Some of the service providers are too small and have limited financial strength to carry out essential and costly repairs on time, leading to pipeline breakage, disruption of services and increasing the possibility of contamination.

Fragmentation in the water and wastewater industry is a headwind. Large water utility companies continue to acquire small players to ensure the extension of high-quality services to customers and the investments required to upgrade old and acquired assets.

Acquisitions of CWT and Other Water Utilities

California Water is expanding operations through inorganic routes. In May 2024, it completed the acquisition of Kings Mountain Park Mutual Water Company's water system assets. Acquisition of assets near its existing property will increase the water-supply reliability and firefighting capabilities of the company.

Other water utilities, like American Water Works AWK and Essential Utilities WTRG, are making acquisitions to expand operations.

American Water Works, through its subsidiaries, is making systematic acquisitions and taking essential steps to upgrade the old infrastructure of the company’s acquired assets. It added 33,400 customers till Sept. 30, 2024, by acquiring five companies.

Essential Utilities has expanded its utility operations by completing several water and wastewater acquisitions, adding 129,000 customers. The six acquisitions completed in 2023 added 11,025 customers. The company is pursuing water and wastewater acquisition opportunities in its service territories, totaling more than 400,000 customers. Management expects its customer base in the water segment to expand 2-3% through acquisitions and organic customer growth.

Price Performance of CWT

In the past six months, shares of CWT have gained 4.3% compared with the industry’s 6.3% growth.

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CWT’s Zacks Rank & A Stock to Consider

California Water Service currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
 
A better-ranked stock from the same industry is Middlesex Water Company MSEX. The company presently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank ( Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the last quarter, the company reported a positive earnings surprise of 19.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings of $2.34 per share indicates an increase of 5.9% in the past 60 days.

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American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

California Water Service Group (CWT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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