SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $51.75

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SJW. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of SJW Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of SJW Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SJW Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

SJW Group Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $56.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.87. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from SJW Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. SJW Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SJW. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in SJW Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in SJW Group by 263.8% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in SJW Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in SJW Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.