SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $55.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $59.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SJW. StockNews.com cut shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on SJW Group from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

SJW Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SJW opened at $52.02 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.65. SJW Group has a one year low of $44.91 and a one year high of $62.18.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Institutional Trading of SJW Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of SJW Group during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position 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 worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in SJW Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $140,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in SJW Group in the third quarter valued at about $215,000. 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.