SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Upgraded to “Buy” at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $55.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $59.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SJW. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on SJW Group from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

SJW Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SJW opened at $52.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.22. SJW Group has a 12-month low of $44.91 and a 12-month high of $62.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is an increase from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s payout ratio is 60.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in SJW Group by 81.4% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SJW Group during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of SJW Group by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $140,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

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.