Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 324 Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW – Get Rating) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in SJW Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Institutional investors own 72.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Andrew Gere sold 830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.72, for a total transaction of $62,017.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,765,409.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Andrew Gere sold 830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.72, for a total value of $62,017.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,765,409.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO James Patrick Lynch sold 709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.27, for a total value of $47,694.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,249 shares in the company, valued at $1,698,500.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SJW. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded SJW Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com began coverage on SJW Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on SJW Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded SJW Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SJW Group from $72.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SJW Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

SJW Group Stock Performance

SJW stock opened at $76.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71 and a beta of 0.60. SJW Group has a 12-month low of $55.74 and a 12-month high of $83.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.29.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $175.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.13 million. SJW Group had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 9.91%. As a group, research analysts forecast that SJW Group will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 4th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

SJW Group Profile

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SJW Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility services in the United States. It engages in the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale, and retail sale of water and wastewater services. The company also provides non-tariffed services, including water system operations, maintenance agreements, and antenna site leases; contracted services and sewer operations to water utilities; and a Linebacker protection plan for public drinking water customers in Connecticut and Maine.