Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,459,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,532 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $71,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,617,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,840,000 after purchasing an additional 72,081 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,256,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,872,000 after buying an additional 52,029 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 22,890 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 5.7% in 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 buying an additional 20,944 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in SJW Group by 6.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 19,136 shares in the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SJW opened at $51.28 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.31. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. 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 is presently 58.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJW has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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.

SJW Group 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.