Short Interest in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Declines By 44.8%

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 343,900 shares, a decrease of 44.8% from the January 31st total of 623,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 275,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

SJW Group Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of SJW Group stock opened at $54.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.31. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $44.91 and a 52-week high of $62.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. SJW Group’s payout ratio is 58.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on SJW shares. Bank of America raised shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SJW. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in SJW Group by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of SJW Group by 81.4% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SJW Group by 842.0% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings 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 valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 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.