SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Trading 4% Higher – Here’s Why

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)’s share price rose 4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $52.23 and last traded at $52.22. Approximately 46,414 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 287,679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SJW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of SJW Group from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday.

SJW Group Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.65.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is 57.97%.

Institutional Trading of SJW Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SJW. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 2,491.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 113,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,169,000 after buying an additional 109,390 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in SJW Group by 29.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 212,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,337,000 after buying an additional 48,200 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in SJW Group by 376.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,495,000 after buying an additional 47,506 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of SJW Group by 445.4% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 45,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 37,521 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of SJW Group by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 52,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 28,417 shares during the period. 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.