SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SJW. Bank of America raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of SJW opened at $52.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. SJW Group has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $62.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.40.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. SJW Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Institutional Trading of SJW Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJW. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of SJW Group by 123.4% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in SJW Group by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in SJW Group by 81.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SJW Group by 842.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of SJW Group by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SJW Group Company 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.