H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 61% to 2.01 million shares as of September 30, representing about 4.8% of H2O America’s outstanding shares and 3.9 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and four rate it a Hold, with an average price target of $65.50.
• H2O America reported quarterly EPS of $0.72, exceeding expectations, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.44, or $1.76 annually, yielding approximately 3.0%.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,012,314 shares, a drop of 61.0% from the September 15th total of 5,158,832 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 519,102 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H2O America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on H2O America from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on H2O America from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, H2O America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.50.

H2O America Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTO traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.45. 203,552 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $62.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.35. H2O America has a 1 year low of $43.75 and a 1 year high of $67.09. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.33.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $210.47 million during the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that H2O America will post 2.80 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. H2O America's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H2O America

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in H2O America in the second quarter valued at $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in H2O America by 76.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in H2O America by 22.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

H2O America Company Profile

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.