H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.00 and last traded at $58.97, with a volume of 567943 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on HTO. UBS Group set a $61.00 price objective on H2O America in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on H2O America from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

H2O America Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.75.

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

H2O America Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H2O America

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTO. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 61,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,020,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in H2O America by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 21,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in H2O America by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in H2O America by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of H2O America by 1,020.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 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.