Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW – Get Rating) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SJW. TheStreet downgraded shares of SJW Group from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of SJW Group from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of SJW Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $67.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, June 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SJW Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in SJW Group by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,183,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $198,711,000 after buying an additional 222,006 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,666,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $103,977,000 after purchasing an additional 17,347 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,016,175 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,401,000 after purchasing an additional 279,283 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,805 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,362,000 after purchasing an additional 122,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 640,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,594,000 after purchasing an additional 13,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.05% of the company's stock.

SJW Group Price Performance

SJW Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from SJW Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 5th. SJW Group's dividend payout ratio is 82.76%.

About SJW Group

(Get Rating)

SJW Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility services in the United States. It engages in the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale, and retail sale of water and wastewater services. The company also provides non-tariffed services, including water system operations, maintenance agreements, and antenna site leases; contracted services and sewer operations to water utilities; and a Linebacker protection plan for public drinking water customers in Connecticut and Maine.

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