H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• H2O America received a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from nine analysts, with an average 1-year price target of about $62.17.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, topping estimates of $0.48, and announced FY 2026 guidance of $3.08 to $3.18 per share.
• H2O America also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.1%.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.1667.

HTO has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of H2O America from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock.

H2O America Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTO opened at $57.65 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.02 and its 200-day moving average is $53.77. H2O America has a 12-month low of $43.75 and a 12-month high of $61.87. 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 market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.35.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. H2O America's dividend payout ratio is 60.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 50,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $270,640,619.14. The trade was a 1.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip bought 50,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,975,738.10. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of H2O America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in H2O America by 128.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 264,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,541,000 after acquiring an additional 149,168 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in H2O America by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in H2O America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,989,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in H2O America by 76.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 911 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in H2O America by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905 shares during the period. 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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