H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on HTO. Barclays assumed coverage on H2O America in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised H2O America to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $61.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of H2O America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.25.

H2O America Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ HTO opened at $53.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.48. H2O America has a 1 year low of $43.75 and a 1 year high of $57.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $52.20 and its 200 day moving average is $49.75.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 12.81%.The business had revenue of $194.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.73 million. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTO. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in H2O America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,834,000. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of H2O America in the third quarter worth $105,965,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in H2O America during the fourth quarter valued at $70,830,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,063,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in H2O America in the 4th quarter valued at $44,420,000. 84.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H2O America News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting H2O America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to 3.08–3.18 and set a higher long‑term EPS growth target, signaling confidence in post‑acquisition scale and rate base growth. H2O America Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Company outlined a ~31% increase in its CapEx budget and raised long‑term EPS growth to 6–8%, reflecting aggressive investment to support the Quadvest acquisition and future rate base expansion (could lift long‑term returns if integration succeeds). CapEx increase and growth target
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays initiated an Overweight rating (or reiterated) with a $61 price target, providing third‑party analyst support that may underpin the stock. Barclays Overweight Rating
• Positive Sentiment: H2O added industry veteran Nick O. Rowe to the board (effective March 1), strengthening operational and regulatory expertise during integration and growth. Board appointment press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: EPS of $0.46 and revenue ~$194.2M slightly missed consensus, but management commentary and the guidance raise offset the miss — a balance of near‑term softness vs. longer‑term upside. Earnings transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data is effectively zero/immaterial and not a driver of today’s move (the short‑interest report appears noisy or erroneous).
• Negative Sentiment: Higher CapEx and acquisition spending raise near‑term execution, integration and financing risks (and may pressure margins or leverage before rate recoveries materialize). CapEx and acquisition risks
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity (small CEO sale noted) and mixed institutional rebalancing may add selling pressure amid higher volume today. Quiver / insider & institutional activity

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.