SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) Short Interest Up 24.2% in December

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 575,200 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the December 15th total of 463,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 241,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in SJW Group by 81.4% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of SJW Group by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of SJW Group by 576.5% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in SJW Group in the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SJW. Bank of America assumed coverage on SJW Group in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of SJW Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SJW Group from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

SJW Group Price Performance

Shares of SJW stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $48.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 271,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,691. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. SJW Group has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $63.34.

SJW Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.97%.

About SJW Group

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.