SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Short Interest Down 28.2% in November

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 543,300 shares, a decrease of 28.2% from the November 15th total of 756,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 203,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in SJW Group by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 164,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 34,607 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 17.5% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,565,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,877,000 after acquiring an additional 233,601 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in SJW Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,593,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in SJW Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,499,000 after buying an additional 20,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SJW Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $620,000. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SJW Group in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SJW Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

SJW Group Stock Performance

SJW Group stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.33. 162,107 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 190,562. SJW Group has a one year low of $51.17 and a one year high of $70.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.64.

SJW Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.97%.

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.