H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HTO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of H2O America in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H2O America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.17.

H2O America Trading Up 1.5%

HTO stock opened at $57.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.02. H2O America has a one year low of $43.75 and a one year high of $61.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.97.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $183.29 million during the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at H2O America

In other H2O America news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 4,582,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. This represents a 1.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip bought 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,582,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. This trade represents a 1.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of H2O America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTO. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in H2O America during the 4th quarter valued at $133,834,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth about $105,965,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 4th quarter worth about $70,830,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of H2O America by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,368,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,027,000 after purchasing an additional 754,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in H2O America by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,359,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,615,000 after acquiring an additional 59,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.