California Water Service (NYSE:CWT) Group CWT announced that it has completed the Palos Verdes Peninsula Water Reliability Project, which will enhance the reliability of the drinking water infrastructure on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It will ensure that all Peninsula residents and firefighters continue to have safe and reliable water service.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Water Reliability Project replaced old pipelines at Palos Verdes Peninsula and added another pumping station to ensure steady flow of potable water to homes and business entities in the region.
California Water is gradually expanding operations through completion of organic projects and strategic acquisitions. Last week, the company announced that its subsidiary, New Mexico Water Service has entered into an agreement to acquire Animas Valley Land and Water Co.
Aging Infrastructure in Water Industry
The water and wastewater infrastructure is aging and nearing the end of effective service life. It is essential to repair and upgrade the old infrastructure and add new pipelines, pump station, storage tanks, along with water refineries to meet the rising demand of potable water as well as wastewater services. California Water’s Palos Verdes Peninsula Water Reliability Project will help to support the existing 60-year-old drinking water pipeline and provide assistance to the system during natural disasters. The company aims to invest nearly $809.0-$828.0 million in the 2019-2021 period to strengthen its infrastructure.
In addition to California Water, water utilities like American Water (NYSE:AWK) Works AWK have been investing regularly to strengthen water and wastewater infrastructure. American Water Works has plans to invest $8.8-$9.4 billion in the 2020-2024 time period and $20-$22 billion in the next decade. Another water utility Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) WTRG aims to invest more than $2.8 billion over the 2020-2022 time period to rehabilitate and strengthen water, as well as gas infrastructure.
Price Performance
Shares of California Water have outperformed the industry in the past month.
Zacks Rank & Key Pick
Currently, the company has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A better-ranked stock in the same industry is Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) Corporation PRMW, currently having a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Primo Water delivered an average earnings surprise of 34.4% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2020 earnings has moved 21.2% upward to 40 cents per share in the past 90 days.
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American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK): Free Stock Analysis Report
California Water Service Group (CWT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Primo Water Corporation (PRMW): Free Stock Analysis Report
Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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