Norges Bank Buys New Stake in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 208,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,255,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 81.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in SJW Group by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SJW Group during the fourth quarter worth about $178,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SJW Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SJW Group stock opened at $50.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $44.91 and a 52-week high of $62.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.79 and a 200 day moving average of $53.24.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. SJW Group’s payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SJW. Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

SJW Group 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.