SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 55.8% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in SJW Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 195,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,603,000 after acquiring an additional 6,063 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in SJW Group by 1,384.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 4,471 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the first quarter worth about $1,269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

SJW Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SJW opened at $56.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $54.39 and a 52-week high of $81.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.92.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $171.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.23 million. SJW Group had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.10%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SJW Group will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.93%.

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.