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

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)’s share price hit 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently 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 raised their target price on SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. SJW Group had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.10%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SJW Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in SJW Group by 216.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,311,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,071,000 after buying an additional 2,266,211 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of SJW Group in the 4th quarter worth $129,070,000. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in shares of SJW Group by 32.6% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,137,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,381,000 after purchasing an additional 279,870 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SJW Group during the fourth quarter valued at $19,796,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,243,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,613,000 after purchasing an additional 211,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.