SJW Group (SJW) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 on June 3rd

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

SJW Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 57 consecutive years. SJW Group has a payout ratio of 53.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect SJW Group to earn $2.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.7%.

SJW Group Stock Performance

Shares of SJW Group stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.50. The company had a trading volume of 337,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,503. SJW Group has a one year low of $51.37 and a one year high of $78.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.58.

SJW Group (NYSE:SJW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $171.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. SJW Group had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 7.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SJW Group will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SJW shares. StockNews.com upgraded SJW Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SJW Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded SJW Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

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.