Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Purchases New Stake in H2O America $HTO

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 53,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,602,000. H2O America makes up approximately 1.5% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.15% of H2O America at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the third quarter worth $40,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of H2O America during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in H2O America during the 3rd quarter worth $100,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in H2O America during the 4th quarter worth $121,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in H2O America in the 3rd quarter valued at $157,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on H2O America in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on H2O America from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $61.00 price target on H2O America in a report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

H2O America Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTO opened at $57.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.48. H2O America has a 1-year low of $43.75 and a 1-year high of $59.00.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. H2O America had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 12.81%.The business had revenue of $194.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.73 million. H2O America has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.080-3.180 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that H2O America will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. H2O America’s payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

H2O America 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.