H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.28 and last traded at $61.77, with a volume of 294063 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HTO. TD Cowen began coverage on H2O America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded H2O America from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, H2O America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.17.

H2O America Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.97 and a 200 day moving average of $55.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $183.29 million for the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. H2O America’s payout ratio is 60.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners sold 1,686 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.73, for a total value of $102,390.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,610,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $279,986,494.77. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip acquired 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,582,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,640,619.14. The trade was a 1.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 102,902 shares of company stock valued at $6,081,017. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $133,834,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in H2O America during the third quarter valued at approximately $105,965,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in H2O America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,830,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of H2O America by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,368,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,027,000 after acquiring an additional 754,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of H2O America by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,359,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,615,000 after acquiring an additional 59,799 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Company Profile

SJW Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in the United States. It operates in Water Utility Services and Real Estate Services segments. The company engages in the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale, and retail sale of water and wastewater services; and supplies groundwater from wells, surface water from watershed run-off and diversion, reclaimed water, and imported water purchased from the Santa Clara Valley Water District.