SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 29,425 Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 93.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,425 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of SJW Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 28,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of SJW Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 10,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Performance

NYSE SJW opened at $52.56 on Thursday. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $51.37 and a 52-week high of $79.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $1.09 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SJW Group will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.93%.

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.