Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 755 Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 755 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in SJW Group by 133.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 12,182 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in SJW Group by 26.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 34,607 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SJW Group by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 142,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,084,000 after acquiring an additional 19,925 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of SJW Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $597,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SJW Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,555,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on SJW shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on SJW Group in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SJW Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

SJW Group Stock Performance

SJW Group stock opened at $55.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.05. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $51.17 and a 52-week high of $70.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

SJW Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.97%.

About SJW Group

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.