H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on H2O America from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on H2O America in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.17.

H2O America Price Performance

Shares of HTO opened at $57.43 on Friday. H2O America has a 52-week low of $43.75 and a 52-week high of $61.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.35.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 12.87%.The firm had revenue of $183.29 million for the quarter. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Atlas Holdings Ltd Gip purchased 50,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,582,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,640,619.14. This represents a 1.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners purchased 50,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.06 per share, with a total value of $2,975,738.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,582,469 shares in the company, valued at $270,640,619.14. The trade was a 1.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTO. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $687,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $514,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $100,000. 84.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.