SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Sets New 52-Week Low at $51.75

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $51.75 and last traded at $51.75, with a volume of 3632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.81. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $171.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share 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 of this dividend 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%.

Institutional Trading of SJW Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJW. State Street Corp raised its position in SJW Group by 216.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,311,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,211 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth about $129,070,000. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in SJW Group by 32.6% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,137,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,381,000 after acquiring an additional 279,870 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth about $19,796,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its position in SJW Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,243,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,613,000 after acquiring an additional 211,744 shares during the period. 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.