H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Hits New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $66.28 and last traded at $66.5350, with a volume of 67941 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.50.

The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $210.47 million for the quarter. H2O America had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 12.87%.H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. H2O America’s payout ratio is 60.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HTO shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of H2O America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on H2O America from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.03 per share, with a total value of $172,691.52. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,615,265 shares in the company, valued at $286,284,887.95. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTO. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in H2O America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,834,000. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth about $105,965,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in H2O America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,830,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in H2O America by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,368,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,027,000 after acquiring an additional 754,715 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of H2O America by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,359,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,615,000 after purchasing an additional 59,799 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.35.

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.