H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.37 and traded as high as $54.29. H2O America shares last traded at $53.61, with a volume of 714,027 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HTO. UBS Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup raised shares of H2O America to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research raised shares of H2O America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

H2O America Trading Down 0.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.53 and a 200-day moving average of $49.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $240.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.27 million. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.59%. As a group, research analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio is 53.33%.

Institutional Trading of H2O America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $687,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth $514,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth $100,000. 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.