H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Sets New 1-Year High After Insider Buying Activity

by · The Markets Daily

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $62.17 and last traded at $62.0460, with a volume of 36191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.74.

Specifically, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,132 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.76 per share, for a total transaction of $129,540.32. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,612,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,254,345.56. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HTO. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of H2O America from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on H2O America in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H2O America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.17.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on HTO

H2O America Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. H2O America had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 6.76%. 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, analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H2O America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTO. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in H2O America during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $514,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in shares of H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $592,000. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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