SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $55.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $59.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SJW. StockNews.com lowered shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SJW Group from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

SJW Group Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of SJW opened at $52.10 on Monday. SJW Group has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $62.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 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 dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SJW Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in SJW Group by 2,491.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 113,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 109,390 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in SJW Group by 29.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 212,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,337,000 after acquiring an additional 48,200 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in SJW Group by 376.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,495,000 after purchasing an additional 47,506 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 445.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 45,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 37,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in SJW Group by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 52,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 28,417 shares during the period. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SJW Group Company 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.