Industry Overview - The Zacks Utility - Water Supply industry includes companies that provide drinking water and wastewater services to various customers, including industrial, commercial, residential, and military bases [1] - Water utilities are essential for maintaining healthy living conditions by ensuring a constant supply of clean water and reliable sewer services [2] Infrastructure and Investment Needs - Water utility operators manage approximately 2.2 million miles of aging pipelines and require significant investments for maintenance and expansion, estimated at $1.25 trillion over the next 20 years according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [3] - Recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, reducing benchmark rates to 4-4.25%, are expected to benefit capital-intensive utility operators by lowering capital servicing expenses [4] Company Comparisons - A comparative analysis was conducted on California Water Service Group (CWT) and The York Water Company (YORW), both currently rated Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) [5] - CWT's 2025 earnings estimate is $2.39 per share on revenues of $1 billion, reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 26.5% in earnings and a 3.3% decline in revenues [6] - YORW's 2025 earnings estimate is $1.35 per share on revenues of $78 million, indicating a 4.9% decline in earnings but a 4.1% growth in revenues [6] Financial Metrics - CWT has a debt-to-capital ratio of 48.11% and YORW has 48.22%, both below the industry average of 50.04% [7] - The times interest earned ratio for CWT is 2.9 and for YORW is 3.1, indicating both companies have sufficient financial flexibility to meet near-term interest obligations [8] Dividend and Performance - CWT's current dividend yield is 2.63% and YORW's is 2.82%, both higher than the Zacks S&P 500 composite average of 1.1% [9] - CWT shares have increased by 0.4% quarter-to-date, while YORW shares have decreased by 1.6%, compared to the industry's overall gain of 0.9% [10][12] Earnings Surprise and Historical Performance - CWT has delivered an average earnings surprise of 51.6% over the last four quarters, while YORW has experienced a negative earnings surprise of 5.22% [11] Conclusion - Both CWT and YORW are suitable choices for investment, focusing on water and wastewater services with potential for expansion. However, CWT is preferred due to better debt management and price performance compared to YORW [14]