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

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of 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 short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SJW traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.35. 289,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 289,855. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.31. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.65. SJW Group has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $62.18.

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio is 58.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday.

Institutional Trading of SJW Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJW. Quarry LP raised its position in SJW Group by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in SJW Group by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its position in SJW Group by 81.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in SJW Group by 842.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in SJW Group by 53.8% in 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 period. 84.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.