Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SJW Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,617,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,840,000 after buying an additional 72,081 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in SJW Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,256,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,872,000 after acquiring an additional 52,029 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SJW Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 745,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,708,000 after acquiring an additional 22,890 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in SJW Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 390,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,241,000 after purchasing an additional 20,944 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in SJW Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 327,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,124,000 after purchasing an additional 19,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

SJW Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of SJW Group stock opened at $53.50 on Monday. SJW Group has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $62.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.71 and a 200 day moving average of $53.37. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

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.