Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $13.56 Million Investment in H2O America $HTO

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management bought a new position of 276,841 shares in H2O America (HTO), worth approximately $13.56 million, and owned about 0.77% of the company at the end of the quarter while institutional investors hold 84.29% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed but optimistic overall: H2O America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $62, following several recent upgrades and downgrades from firms including Citigroup, UBS and Zacks.
• Key fundamentals: market cap ~$2.09B and P/E 19.8; H2O America pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44 (annualized $1.76, yield ~3.0%, DPR ~60%), and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 3.08–3.18 versus analyst projections near 2.75.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 276,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,562,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.77% of H2O America at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of H2O America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of H2O America during the third quarter valued at approximately $157,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of H2O America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Citigroup raised H2O America to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research upgraded H2O America from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of H2O America in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $61.00 price objective on H2O America in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.00.

H2O America Price Performance

Shares of HTO opened at $57.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $59.00. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.48.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $194.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.73 million. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 12.81%.H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. H2O America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.27%.

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.

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