SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised SJW Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SJW Group currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Performance

NYSE:SJW opened at $53.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. SJW Group has a twelve month low of $51.37 and a twelve month high of $78.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). SJW Group had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $171.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that SJW Group will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SJW Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of SJW Group in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in SJW Group by 760.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in SJW Group by 130.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. 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.