H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $61.00 price objective on shares of H2O America in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of H2O America to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.25.

H2O America Trading Down 0.4%

HTO opened at $53.79 on Friday. H2O America has a one year low of $43.75 and a one year high of $57.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.74. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 12.81%.The company had revenue of $194.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.73 million. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that H2O America will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. H2O America’s payout ratio is 60.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTO. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 1,020.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of H2O America during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in H2O America during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in H2O America by 139.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H2O America News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting H2O America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to 3.08–3.18 and set a higher long‑term EPS growth target, signaling confidence in post‑acquisition scale and rate base growth. H2O America Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Company outlined a ~31% increase in its CapEx budget and raised long‑term EPS growth to 6–8%, reflecting aggressive investment to support the Quadvest acquisition and future rate base expansion (could lift long‑term returns if integration succeeds). CapEx increase and growth target
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays initiated an Overweight rating (or reiterated) with a $61 price target, providing third‑party analyst support that may underpin the stock. Barclays Overweight Rating
• Positive Sentiment: H2O added industry veteran Nick O. Rowe to the board (effective March 1), strengthening operational and regulatory expertise during integration and growth. Board appointment press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: EPS of $0.46 and revenue ~$194.2M slightly missed consensus, but management commentary and the guidance raise offset the miss — a balance of near‑term softness vs. longer‑term upside. Earnings transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data is effectively zero/immaterial and not a driver of today’s move (the short‑interest report appears noisy or erroneous).
• Negative Sentiment: Higher CapEx and acquisition spending raise near‑term execution, integration and financing risks (and may pressure margins or leverage before rate recoveries materialize). CapEx and acquisition risks
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity (small CEO sale noted) and mixed institutional rebalancing may add selling pressure amid higher volume today. Quiver / insider & institutional activity

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.