Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) from $60.00 to $58.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• H2O America recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.71, with revenues of $198.26 million for the quarter.
• Institutional investors own 84.29% of H2O America's stock, with notable increases in holdings from multiple investment firms during the past quarter.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.20% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen began coverage on H2O America in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock.

H2O America Stock Performance

HTO traded up $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.49. 261,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 272,013. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.53. H2O America has a 1-year low of $44.91 and a 1-year high of $61.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 13.03%. The company had revenue of $198.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.26 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of H2O America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTO. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in H2O America in the 1st quarter worth about $323,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H2O America by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 335,164 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,330,000 after purchasing an additional 169,038 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of H2O America by 240.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.