SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Position Raised by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.11% of SJW Group worth $2,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in SJW Group by 130.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in SJW Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $246,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in SJW Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 4,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SJW Group during the third quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 26.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SJW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SJW Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

SJW Group Stock Performance

SJW traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $55.75. The company had a trading volume of 14,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,363. SJW Group has a 1-year low of $51.37 and a 1-year high of $77.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $171.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. SJW Group had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 12.48%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts predict that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SJW Group news, insider Craig J. Patla sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $77,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,546. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.