Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes $10.93 Million Position in H2O America $HTO

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 179,910 shares of H2O America worth approximately $10.93 million, giving it a 0.43% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 84.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $65.67 price target, although one analyst recently downgraded the stock to sell.
• H2O America beat quarterly earnings estimates with EPS of $0.72 versus $0.70 expected and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44, equivalent to a 2.9% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 179,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,933,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.43% of H2O America at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in H2O America by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of H2O America by 1,020.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of H2O America by 44.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of H2O America by 139.8% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on HTO shares. Barclays upped 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of H2O America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of H2O America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, H2O America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners acquired 2,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $62.03 per share, for a total transaction of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 4,615,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,284,887.95. This represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H2O America Price Performance

HTO opened at $61.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.34. H2O America has a 12-month low of $43.75 and a 12-month high of $67.09.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS 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. Research analysts predict that H2O America will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. H2O America's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.19%.

H2O America Profile

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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