Nuance Investments LLC Acquires New Stake in H2O America $HTO

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in H2O America, buying 906,724 shares valued at about $44.4 million. The position represents 4.9% of Nuance’s portfolio and 2.53% of H2O America’s shares outstanding, according to the filing.
• H2O America has seen heavy institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard, Amundi, First Trust, Dimensional, and Invesco also adding positions. Hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 84.29% of the stock.
• Analysts currently view H2O America as a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $62.17. The company recently beat earnings expectations, reported a quarterly dividend of $0.44, and guided FY 2026 EPS to 3.08-3.18.

Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 906,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $44,420,000. H2O America accounts for 4.9% of Nuance Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned 2.53% of H2O America as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HTO. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in H2O America during the 4th quarter valued at $133,834,000. Amundi purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $105,965,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,063,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,737,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,753,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HTO. TD Cowen began coverage on H2O America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on H2O America in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird began coverage on H2O America in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded H2O America from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, H2O America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.17.

H2O America Price Performance

Shares of HTO stock opened at $57.43 on Friday. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $61.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 12.87%.The business had revenue of $183.29 million during the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. On average, analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. H2O America's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at H2O America

In related news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners purchased 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,582,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. The trade was a 1.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip purchased 50,385 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,582,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. This represents a 1.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

H2O America Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.