H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Stock Falls 7.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• H2O America shares fell 7.7% to about $57.05, with trading volume 54% below the average session volume.
• The company slightly missed quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $1.04 EPS versus the $1.06 consensus, while revenue reached $250.23 million. Analysts nevertheless maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $64.50 average price target.
• H2O America announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, equivalent to $1.76 annually and a 3.1% yield; institutional investors own 84.29% of the company.

Shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) fell 7.7% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $57.29 and last traded at $57.0460. 227,829 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 490,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HTO shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on H2O America from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Huntington Sec started coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "strong-buy" rating for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on H2O America from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.50.

H2O America Stock Down 8.2%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $61.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). H2O America had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $250.23 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 2.80 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. H2O America's dividend payout ratio is 62.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H2O America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 27.6% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 162,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,036,000 after acquiring an additional 35,176 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in H2O America by 35.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in H2O America in the third quarter valued at $211,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at $992,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of H2O America by 5,108.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 10,268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

H2O America Company Profile

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