H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Insider Buying Activity

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $63.28 and last traded at $61.77, with a volume of 294063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.21.

Specifically, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners purchased 2,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $62.03 per share, for a total transaction of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,615,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,284,887.95. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners acquired 2,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.76 per share, for a total transaction of $129,540.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,612,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,254,345.56. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on H2O America in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of H2O America from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research raised H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.17.

H2O America Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.05 and its 200 day moving average is $56.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $183.29 million for the quarter. H2O America had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 6.76%. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H2O America

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTO. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,737,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,054,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth about $694,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in H2O America during the third quarter valued at about $7,279,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently 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.