H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Hold” Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of H2O America from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.17.

H2O America Stock Performance

HTO opened at $57.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.35. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $61.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts expect that H2O America will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. H2O America’s payout ratio is 60.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners purchased 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,582,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. The trade was a 1.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip purchased 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,582,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. This trade represents a 1.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of H2O America by 194.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of H2O America by 1,020.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of H2O America by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.