SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the three research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.50.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SJW Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SJW opened at $58.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. SJW Group has a 12-month low of $51.17 and a 12-month high of $70.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.38.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $176.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.10 million. SJW Group had a return on equity of 7.10% and a net margin of 12.48%. As a group, equities analysts predict that SJW Group will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.15%.

Institutional Trading of SJW Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 2.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 35,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 26,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 25,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently 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.