Cohen & Steers Inc. Acquires Shares of 544,544 H2O America $HTO

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. opened a new position in H2O America, buying 544,544 shares valued at about $26.7 million and ending the quarter with a 1.52% stake.
• H2O America continues to attract institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 84.29% of the stock; insiders also bought shares recently, including Atlas Infrastructure Partners and Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip purchasing 50,385 shares each.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.50 EPS versus $0.48 expected, and it paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, implying a 3.1% yield.

Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 544,544 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,677,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned 1.52% of H2O America at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $133,834,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter worth approximately $105,965,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,830,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter worth approximately $64,063,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,420,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at H2O America

In other news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners acquired 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,975,738.10. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,582,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $270,640,619.14. This trade represents a 1.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip purchased 50,385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,582,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. This trade represents a 1.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded H2O America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on H2O America in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on H2O America in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded H2O America from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, H2O America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.17.

H2O America Trading Up 0.7%

HTO opened at $57.06 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.35. H2O America has a 52 week low of $43.75 and a 52 week high of $61.87. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $183.29 million for the quarter. H2O America had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 12.87%.H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. H2O America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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