H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Short Interest Down 15.4% in January

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,398,626 shares, a decrease of 15.4% from the January 15th total of 1,652,534 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 305,041 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 305,041 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of H2O America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $61.00 target price on H2O America in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research cut H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded H2O America to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, H2O America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

H2O America Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTO traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 163,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,198. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.30 and a 200 day moving average of $49.47. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $57.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. H2O America’s payout ratio is 55.87%.

Institutional Trading of H2O America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTO. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $687,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in H2O America during the third quarter worth $243,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in H2O America during the third quarter worth $514,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in H2O America during the third quarter valued at $100,000. 84.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.