Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Reduces Stock Position in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,117 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SJW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in SJW Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,387,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,510,000 after purchasing an additional 61,015 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,137,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,381,000 after buying an additional 279,870 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of SJW Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 545,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,770,000 after buying an additional 15,332 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in SJW Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 429,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,815,000 after acquiring an additional 18,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in SJW Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 318,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SJW Group Stock Performance

Shares of SJW stock opened at $54.09 on Tuesday. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $51.37 and a 52-week high of $79.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). SJW Group had a return on equity of 7.10% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $171.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SJW Group will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. SJW Group’s payout ratio is presently 59.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SJW shares. StockNews.com lowered SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SJW Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.00.

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.