Analysts Set SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Price Target at $66.00

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

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJW. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the second quarter worth about $28,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of SJW Group by 263.8% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SJW Group Price Performance

SJW opened at $53.09 on Tuesday. SJW Group has a 12-month low of $51.37 and a 12-month high of $79.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last posted 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). SJW Group had a return on equity of 7.10% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $171.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. 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 yield of 3.01%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.