H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Upgraded to Buy at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $61.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.75.

H2O America Trading Up 2.1%

H2O America stock opened at $51.59 on Friday. H2O America has a 52-week low of $43.75 and a 52-week high of $57.17. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.42.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $240.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.27 million. H2O America had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTO. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in H2O America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $157,000. 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.