Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes $2.38 Million Position in H2O America $HTO

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 40,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,384,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of H2O America as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTO. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in H2O America by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in H2O America by 1,020.8% in 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. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of H2O America by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of H2O America during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of H2O America by 139.8% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Price Performance

NASDAQ HTO opened at $61.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.57. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.34. H2O America has a 1 year low of $43.75 and a 1 year high of $67.09.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $210.47 million for the quarter. H2O America had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 6.65%. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that H2O America will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. H2O America’s payout ratio is presently 62.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HTO. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of H2O America from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on H2O America in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on H2O America in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, BTIG Research set a $70.00 price target on H2O America in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, H2O America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.67.

Insider Activity at H2O America

In other H2O America news, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners acquired 2,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $62.03 per share, with a total value of $172,691.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,615,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,284,887.95. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

H2O America Company Profile

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.