H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,012,314 shares, a drop of 61.0% from the September 15th total of 5,158,832 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 519,102 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on H2O America from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, H2O America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.50.

H2O America Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTO traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.45. 203,552 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.35. H2O America has a 1 year low of $43.75 and a 1 year high of $67.09. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.33.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $210.47 million during the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that H2O America will post 2.80 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H2O America

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of H2O America by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in H2O America in the second quarter valued at $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in H2O America by 76.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in H2O America by 22.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Company Profile