H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Short Interest Update

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,143,556 shares, a growth of 210.3% from the February 26th total of 1,657,368 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 979,415 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days. Approximately 14.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 14.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 979,415 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group set a $61.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded H2O America to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

H2O America Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTO traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.99. 111,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,648. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $59.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.48.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 12.81%.The business had revenue of $194.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.73 million. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of H2O America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 61,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in H2O America by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 21,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of H2O America by 1,020.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is owned by 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.