SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Trading 4.7% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW - Get Free Report) traded up 4.7% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $60.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. SJW Group traded as high as $56.25 and last traded at $56.04. 31,360 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 228,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.51.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SJW. StockNews.com upgraded SJW Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America raised shares of SJW Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJW. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in SJW Group by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 38,063 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 3,952 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 195.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 21,123 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in SJW Group in the 4th quarter worth about $574,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in SJW Group by 376.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,495,000 after buying an additional 47,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SJW Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,942,000. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company's stock.

SJW Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.65 and its 200-day moving average is $52.81.

SJW Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. SJW Group's dividend payout ratio is 56.38%.

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.