H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) Short Interest Down 15.4% in January

H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,398,626 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the January 15th total of 1,652,534 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 305,041 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 305,041 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised H2O America to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research upgraded H2O America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H2O America in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $61.00 price objective on shares of H2O America in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of H2O America from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in H2O America by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,457,000 after purchasing an additional 7,861 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H2O America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of H2O America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $578,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of H2O America by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,368,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,027,000 after acquiring an additional 754,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in H2O America by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 166,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,189,000 after acquiring an additional 14,591 shares during the period. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H2O America Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:HTO opened at $54.89 on Monday. H2O America has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $57.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.39.

H2O America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. H2O America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.87%.

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.