H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• H2O America hit a new 52-week high after Barclays raised its price target to $63 and kept an overweight rating, with the stock trading as high as $58.93 (last $58.57).
• Major institutions including Vanguard and Amundi bought large stakes recently, leaving institutional investors with 84.29% ownership of the company.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44 (annualized $1.76, ~3.0% yield) and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 3.080–3.180, versus analysts' current-year estimate of 2.75 EPS.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $61.00 to $63.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. H2O America traded as high as $58.93 and last traded at $58.57, with a volume of 630885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.21.

Several other research firms also recently commented on HTO. UBS Group set a $61.00 price objective on H2O America in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of H2O America from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of H2O America to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America during the 4th quarter worth $133,834,000. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $105,965,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,830,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at about $64,063,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

H2O America Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business's fifty day moving average is $53.13 and its 200 day moving average is $50.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.48.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $194.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.73 million. H2O America had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 7.08%. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. H2O America's payout ratio is presently 60.27%.

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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