H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) from a "hold" to a "Strong Sell", even as MarketBeat's analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $61.83.
• H2O America reported Q1 EPS of $0.50 (vs. $0.48 expected) and issued FY2026 guidance of 3.080–3.180 EPS.
• Major shareholder Atlas bought 50,385 shares on April 10, raising its stake to 4,582,469 shares, while institutional investors hold about 84.3% of the company.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded H2O America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of H2O America from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of H2O America to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, H2O America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.83.

H2O America Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:HTO opened at $57.98 on Monday. H2O America has a 12-month low of $43.75 and a 12-month high of $61.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.80 and a 200-day moving average of $52.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.35.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter worth $10,556,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in H2O America in the fourth quarter valued at $1,375,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth $9,108,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of H2O America in the 4th quarter valued at about $880,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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