SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $51.75

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $51.75 and last traded at $51.75, with a volume of 3632 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.58. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $56.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.92.

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

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SJW Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 28,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

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.