H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H2O America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Huntington Sec assumed coverage on shares of H2O America in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of H2O America in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of H2O America from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of H2O America in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, H2O America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.50.

H2O America Price Performance

HTO opened at $58.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day moving average of $58.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. H2O America has a 12-month low of $43.75 and a 12-month high of $67.09.

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). H2O America had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 6.03%. The business had revenue of $250.23 million for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that H2O America will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H2O America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the second quarter worth $431,857,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of H2O America by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,995,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,287,000 after buying an additional 382,268 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in H2O America by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 705,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,383,000 after buying an additional 46,410 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in H2O America by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 593,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,801,000 after buying an additional 175,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in H2O America in the 2nd quarter worth $34,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

H2O America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Huntington Securities initiated coverage with a “Strong-Buy” rating and projected earnings of $3.10 per share for fiscal 2026, $2.87 for fiscal 2027 and $3.53 for fiscal 2028. The estimates suggest earnings growth over the longer term. Huntington Securities analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: H2O America priced a $325 million offering of equity units, with estimated net proceeds of approximately $315.3 million. Management may use the funds for acquisitions, capital expenditures and debt repayment, potentially supporting expansion and balance-sheet flexibility. H2O America announces pricing of equity-unit offering
• Neutral Sentiment: The equity units will provide a 7.750% annual distribution and are expected to be listed on Nasdaq, which could improve investor access and liquidity. However, the securities combine debt-like notes with future stock-purchase contracts, making the financing structure more complex.
• Negative Sentiment: The offering creates potential dilution because holders must ultimately purchase a variable number of H2O America common shares by November 2029. The associated 5.300% senior notes also increase the company’s financing obligations, which may pressure the stock despite the planned use of proceeds for growth and debt management. H2O America prices $325 million public offering

About H2O America