Nuance Investments LLC Purchases 52,029 Shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW)

Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,256,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,029 shares during the period. SJW Group accounts for approximately 2.5% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in SJW Group were worth $61,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of SJW Group by 2.8% during the fourth 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. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of SJW Group by 376.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,495,000 after purchasing an additional 47,506 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SJW Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,942,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in SJW Group by 120.1% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 52,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 28,417 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in SJW Group during the third quarter worth about $1,593,000. Institutional investors own 84.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts 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 company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

SJW Group Price Performance

SJW stock opened at $51.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.71. SJW Group has a 1 year low of $44.91 and a 1 year high of $62.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.58. 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 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 given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from SJW Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. SJW Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

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.