Brokerages Set SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Price Target at $66.00

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of SJW Group stock opened at $56.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.65. SJW Group has a 12 month low of $54.39 and a 12 month high of $81.86.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $171.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. SJW Group had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.10%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that SJW Group will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 263.8% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

About SJW Group

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.