SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Insider Sells $77,868.00 in Stock

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) insider Craig J. Patla sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $77,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $183,546. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

SJW Group Stock Performance

Shares of SJW traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $55.95. 209,876 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,608. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.58. SJW Group has a 52-week low of $51.37 and a 52-week high of $77.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $171.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. SJW Group had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 6.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SJW Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 59,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,390,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in SJW Group by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,331,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,368,000 after buying an additional 211,638 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 87.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of SJW Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 25,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, February 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

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.