SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Receives $66.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in SJW Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 35,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in SJW Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in SJW Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SJW Group Stock Performance

Shares of SJW Group stock opened at $54.27 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. SJW Group has a 52 week low of $51.37 and a 52 week high of $79.48.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). SJW Group had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.10%. The business had revenue of $171.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost 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 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is 59.93%.

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.