Private Advisor Group LLC Reduces Stake in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,201 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $1,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in SJW Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 146,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,362 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of SJW Group by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 38,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 3,952 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in SJW Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 18,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in SJW Group by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV acquired a new position in SJW Group in the fourth quarter valued at $931,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of SJW opened at $52.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. SJW Group has a fifty-two week low of $44.91 and a fifty-two week high of $62.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.65.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SJW. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd.

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.