Water Utility Up Just 8% in a Year Faces $28 Million Position Cut

1 week ago 16

Jonathan Ponciano, The Motley Fool

Sat, May 9, 2026 astatine 11:58 AM CDT 4 min read

On May 8, 2026, Nuance Investments disclosed successful an SEC filing that it sold 515,078 shares of H2O America successful the archetypal quarter, an estimated $28.04 cardinal commercialized based connected the quarterly mean price.

What happened

Nuance Investments reduced its involvement successful H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO) by 515,078 shares during the archetypal quarter, according to a SEC filing dated May 8, 2026. The estimated worth of the shares sold was $28.04 million, based connected the mean unadjusted closing terms for the quarter. The quarter-end worth of the presumption decreased by $21.44 million, reflecting some the merchantability and marketplace terms changes. Following the transaction, Nuance Investments held 391,646 shares of H2O America, valued astatine $22.98 million.

What other to cognize

After the sale, H2O America represents 3.2% of Nuance Investments' reportable assets nether management, which places it extracurricular the fund's apical 5 holdings.
Top holdings aft the filing:
- NYSE: CWT: $72.71 cardinal (10.1% of AUM)
- NASDAQ: MRTN: $63.16 cardinal (8.8% of AUM)
- NYSE: QGEN: $52.86 cardinal (7.4% of AUM)
- NYSE: CLX: $52.66 cardinal (7.3% of AUM)
- NASDAQ: WERN: $44.72 cardinal (6.2% of AUM)
As of May 7, 2026, H2O America shares were priced astatine $57.16, up 8.4% implicit the past twelvemonth and trailing the S&P 500 by 22 percent points.

Company overview

Metric

Value

Price (as of marketplace adjacent May 7, 2026)	$57.16
Market capitalization	$2.00 billion
Revenue (TTM)	$816.28 million
Net income (TTM)	$105.04 million

Company snapshot

H2O America provides regulated h2o and wastewater inferior services, including h2o production, purification, distribution, and retail sales, arsenic good arsenic non-tariffed services specified arsenic strategy operations, attraction agreements, and contracted sewer operations.
The institution operates chiefly connected a regulated inferior concern model, generating gross done tariff-based h2o and wastewater services, supplemented by ancillary non-tariffed offerings and spot leasing.
It serves h2o work connections and wastewater connections, reaching implicit 1.6 cardinal radical crossed California, Connecticut, Maine, and Texas, with a absorption connected municipal and residential customers.

H2O America is simply a starring regulated h2o inferior serving divers communities crossed aggregate U.S. states. The company's strategy centers connected stable, tariff-driven gross streams, complemented by selective enlargement into non-tariffed services and spot management. Its competitory vantage lies successful its scale, determination diversification, and established beingness successful some regulated and ancillary h2o markets.

What this transaction means for investors

H2O America continues to look operationally solid, but aft trailing the broader marketplace by a wide borderline implicit the past year, Nuance whitethorn simply spot amended superior deployment opportunities elsewhere.

Of course, that does not mean the underlying concern is weakening. Late past month, H2O America reaffirmed its semipermanent adjusted EPS maturation people of 6% to 8% and said it expects to onshore astatine oregon supra the precocious extremity of that scope done 2030. The institution besides reiterated plans to put $2.7 cardinal into h2o and wastewater infrastructure betwixt 2026 and 2030, portion advancing its pending Quadvest acquisition successful Texas.

Meanwhile, first-quarter gross climbed 9% to $183.3 million, helped by complaint increases and higher lawsuit usage, and nett income roseate 15% to $19 million. H2O America besides extended its beardown dividend streak, raising its annualized payout to $1.76 per stock aft much than 58 consecutive years of increases.

For semipermanent investors, it’s important to retrieve that the upside present whitethorn not travel arsenic rapidly arsenic AI oregon high-growth tech names, but regulated utilities with expanding complaint bases and dependable dividend maturation tin inactive play an important relation successful a diversified portfolio.

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