SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $54.69, but opened at $53.40. SJW Group shares last traded at $54.24, with a volume of 15,955 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

SJW Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SJW. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of SJW Group by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,317,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,858,000 after buying an additional 873,973 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in SJW Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,255,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 131.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 153,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,564,000 after buying an additional 87,260 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,617,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,840,000 after purchasing an additional 72,081 shares during the period. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of SJW Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,256,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,872,000 after acquiring an additional 52,029 shares in 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.