SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $60.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. SJW Group traded as high as $57.17 and last traded at $56.74, with a volume of 305984 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.80.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America upgraded SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its stake in SJW Group by 123.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of SJW Group by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in SJW Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SJW Group by 842.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in SJW Group by 190.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SJW Group Trading Down 0.7 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

SJW Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.38%.

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.