Prospera Financial Services Inc Makes New Investment in H2O America $HTO

Key Points

• Prospera Financial Services disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in H2O America, buying 87,876 shares worth about $4.3 million and representing roughly 0.25% of the company.
• H2O America continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with 84.29% of shares held by hedge funds and institutions; insider Atlas Infrastructure Partners also recently bought more stock in a transaction worth nearly $3.0 million.
• The utility posted better-than-expected earnings of $0.50 per share versus $0.48 expected, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, implying a 3.0% yield.

Prospera Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 87,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,305,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc owned about 0.25% of H2O America at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in H2O America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $133,834,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $105,965,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,063,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,737,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,753,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at H2O America

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of H2O America from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of H2O America from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H2O America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.17.

H2O America Price Performance

H2O America stock opened at $58.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.41. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $61.87.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $183.29 million for the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. H2O America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.27%.

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.