H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $63.35 and closing near that level, up about 0.5% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $63.33, while Barclays recently raised its target to $67 and kept an Overweight rating.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $0.50 per share, topping estimates, and it continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, for a 2.8% yield.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.35 and last traded at $63.1980, with a volume of 39540 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $62.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HTO. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of H2O America from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of H2O America from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised H2O America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.33.

H2O America Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 6.98 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $183.29 million during the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Research analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. H2O America's dividend payout ratio is 60.27%.

Insider Activity

In other H2O America news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $62.03 per share, for a total transaction of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,615,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,284,887.95. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTO. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in H2O America by 22.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in H2O America by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 661 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of H2O America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 61,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in H2O America by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 21,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in H2O America by 194.9% in 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 last quarter. 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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