H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on H2O America from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a research report on Friday, January 9th.

H2O America Trading Up 2.1%

H2O America stock opened at $57.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.48. H2O America has a 52-week low of $43.75 and a 52-week high of $59.00.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $194.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.73 million. H2O America had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 7.08%. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that H2O America will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTO. US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in H2O America in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $687,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth $514,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

About H2O America

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.