H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.6667.

HTO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on H2O America from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on H2O America from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. BTIG Research set a $70.00 price target on H2O America in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th.

H2O America Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTO opened at $63.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. H2O America has a 52-week low of $43.75 and a 52-week high of $67.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.94.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The firm had revenue of $210.47 million for the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.19%.

Insider Activity at H2O America

In other news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.03 per share, with a total value of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,615,265 shares in the company, valued at $286,284,887.95. This represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in H2O America in the second quarter worth about $730,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the second quarter worth $103,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in H2O America by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 170,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 64,487 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of H2O America by 3.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of H2O America by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

H2O America Company Profile

H2O America, Inc (NASDAQ: HTO) is a regulated water utility holding company that provides water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company owns and manages water supply, treatment, storage and distribution infrastructure, and is responsible for delivering reliable drinking water and related utility services.

The company serves communities primarily in California, Connecticut and Maine. Its operations include the San Jose Water Company, which has a long history of serving customers in the greater San Jose area, as well as water utility businesses in the northeastern United States.