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

Shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $63.28 and last traded at $61.77, with a volume of 294063 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.21.

Specifically, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $62.03 per share, for a total transaction of $172,691.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Atlas Infrastructure Partners bought 2,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.76 per share, for a total transaction of $129,540.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,612,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,254,345.56. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HTO. Barclays lowered their price target on H2O America from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised H2O America from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of H2O America in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, H2O America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.17.

H2O America Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.04.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $183.29 million during 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. On average, research analysts predict that H2O America will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in H2O America during the second quarter worth about $10,933,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of H2O America by 22.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of H2O America by 128.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 264,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,541,000 after purchasing an additional 149,168 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 6.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new position in shares of H2O America during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,989,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.