SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $53.00

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $53.00 and last traded at $53.28, with a volume of 11670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SJW. Seaport Res Ptn raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SJW Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.09 and a 200 day moving average of $61.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.10%. The business had revenue of $171.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SJW Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its position in shares of SJW Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 0.8% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SJW Group Company Profile

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.