Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 73,900 Shares of H2O America $HTO

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its H2O America stake by 88% in the first quarter, purchasing 73,900 additional shares for a total holding of 157,900 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.29% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with five Buy ratings and four Hold ratings producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $65.67. Robert W. Baird recently raised its target to $72 and assigned an Outperform rating.
• H2O America exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.72 in EPS versus the $0.70 consensus estimate, and reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.08–$3.18. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, implying a 2.9% annualized yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Free Report) by 88.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 73,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.38% of H2O America worth $9,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of H2O America by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of H2O America by 1,020.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in H2O America by 44.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in H2O America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 139.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at H2O America

In other H2O America news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners acquired 2,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.03 per share, with a total value of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,615,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,284,887.95. The trade was a 0.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HTO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded H2O America from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research set a $70.00 price objective on H2O America in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on H2O America in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of H2O America from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, H2O America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.67.

H2O America Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTO opened at $61.33 on Monday. H2O America has a 12-month low of $43.75 and a 12-month high of $67.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.09 and a 200 day moving average of $57.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. H2O America had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 12.91%.The business had revenue of $210.47 million during the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

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

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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