Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 195 Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $1,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SJW Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,465,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,136,000 after purchasing an additional 78,289 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of SJW Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 724,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,363,000 after purchasing an additional 27,301 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of SJW Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 545,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,770,000 after purchasing an additional 15,332 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of SJW Group by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 474,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,015,000 after purchasing an additional 66,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in SJW Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 429,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,815,000 after buying an additional 18,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

SJW Group Trading Down 0.7 %

SJW stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.97. The stock had a trading volume of 16,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,177. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.64. SJW Group has a 1-year low of $51.17 and a 1-year high of $73.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. SJW Group had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The firm had revenue of $149.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig J. Patla sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $77,868.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,300 shares in the company, valued at $183,546. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SJW Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

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.