H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.75.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HTO. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $61.00 price target on H2O America in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research upgraded H2O America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of H2O America to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTO. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of H2O America in the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in H2O America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,092,000. CWM LLC acquired a new position in H2O America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in H2O America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America during the 4th quarter valued at $880,000. 84.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H2O America Stock Down 2.2%

HTO stock opened at $51.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.49. H2O America has a 12 month low of $43.75 and a 12 month high of $57.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.18.

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

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. H2O America’s payout ratio is 53.33%.

H2O America Company Profile

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.