Jennison Associates LLC Buys 83,911 Shares of H2O America $HTO

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) by 486.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,911 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in H2O America were worth $5,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HTO. US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,737,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,054,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $694,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,279,000. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ HTO opened at $64.02 on Wednesday. H2O America has a 1 year low of $43.75 and a 1 year high of $66.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.84. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Research analysts anticipate that H2O America will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

H2O America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio is 60.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of H2O America in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of H2O America from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H2O America news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,784 shares of H2O America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $62.03 per share, for a total transaction of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,615,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,284,887.95. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.