H2O America $HTO Shares Purchased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management boosted its H2O America stake by 354.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 81,927 shares valued at about $4.0 million.
• H2O America reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.50 per share versus the $0.48 estimate, and it maintained FY 2026 EPS guidance of 3.080-3.180.
• The company recently paid a $0.44 quarterly dividend ($1.76 annualized), implying a 3.0% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $62.17.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) by 354.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,918 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.23% of H2O America worth $4,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HTO. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in H2O America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,834,000. Amundi acquired a new position in H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $105,965,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,063,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in H2O America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,420,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,737,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company's stock.

H2O America Stock Up 0.2%

H2O America stock opened at $57.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.35. H2O America has a 12 month low of $43.75 and a 12 month high of $61.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $183.29 million during 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. On average, analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. H2O America's payout ratio is presently 60.27%.

Insider Activity at H2O America

In other news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners purchased 50,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip purchased 50,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,582,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $270,640,619.14. This represents a 1.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HTO shares. Wall Street Zen raised H2O America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings raised H2O America from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on H2O America in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded H2O America from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, H2O America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.17.

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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