SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Short Interest Update

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 450,200 shares, an increase of 30.9% from the February 13th total of 343,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 279,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

SJW Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE SJW traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 125,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,266. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.58. SJW Group has a fifty-two week low of $44.91 and a fifty-two week high of $62.18.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of SJW Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,593,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in SJW Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 722,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,006,000 after purchasing an additional 13,614 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,499,000 after purchasing an additional 20,646 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of SJW Group by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 38,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 195.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 21,123 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.