SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Short Interest Down 44.8% in February

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW - Get Free Report) was the recipient 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 trading volume of 275,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SJW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SJW Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of SJW Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SJW Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

SJW Group Stock Down 0.5 %

SJW Group stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.18. 218,560 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,847. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.65. SJW Group has a twelve month low of $44.91 and a twelve month high of $62.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.02 and a 200-day moving average of $54.27.

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SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. 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 3.10%. SJW Group's dividend payout ratio is 58.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SJW Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJW. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in SJW Group by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,317,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,858,000 after buying an additional 873,973 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in SJW Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,255,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 131.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 153,687 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,564,000 after purchasing an additional 87,260 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $128,840,000 after purchasing an additional 72,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,256,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,872,000 after purchasing an additional 52,029 shares during the last quarter. 84.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.