H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• H2O America has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with three hold recommendations and one buy recommendation, along with an average twelve-month target price of $56.50.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.75 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.71, and achieved a net margin of 13.03%.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share was recently paid, yielding an annualized dividend of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 55.08%.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.50.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of H2O America from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th.

H2O America Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTO traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 332,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,957. H2O America has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $59.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $49.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.25.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. H2O America had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $198.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.26 million. Analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. H2O America's payout ratio is 55.08%.

Institutional Trading of H2O America

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of H2O America by 190.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of H2O America by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,130 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of H2O America by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,274 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of H2O America in the 1st quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of H2O America by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,253,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

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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