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Reasons to Add SJW Group (SJW) Stock to Your Portfolio Now

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SJW Group (SJW - Free Report) , with rising earnings estimates and strategic investments, offers a great investment opportunity in the utility sector.

Let’s focus on the reasons that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a solid investment pick at the moment.

Growth Projections & Surprise History

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SJW’s 2024 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 1.46% to $2.77 in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SJW’s total revenues for 2024 stands at $681.30 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 3.19%.

SJW delivered an average earnings surprise of 20.05% in the last four quarters.

Return on Equity

Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, SJW Group’s ROE is 8.53% compared to its sector’s average of 7.39%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its funds more constructively than its peers in the industry.

Dividend History

SJW has been increasing shareholders’ value through dividend payments. In October 2023, SJW announced a quarterly dividend of 38 cents per share, resulting in an annual dividend of $1.52 per share. SJW’s current dividend yield is 2.44%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s yield of 1.12%.

Systematic Capital Expenditure

On Jan 9, 2024, SJW filed a general rate case application focused on infrastructure upgrades and water system safety and resiliency. This application proposes a three-year $0.54 billion capital investment program to ensure a resilient water system for SJW customers and its local communities. SJW provides water service to approximately one million people in the greater San Jose metropolitan area.

Solvency

SJW Group’s times interest earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 was 2.7. The TIE ratio of more than 1 indicates that the company will be able to meet its interest payment obligations in the near term without any problems.

Price Performance

In the past six months, SJW shares have declined 13.2% compared with its industry’s average decrease of 38.7%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks related to the same sector are Atmos Energy (ATO - Free Report) , American Water (AWK - Free Report) and Entergy (ETR - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Atmos Energy’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.26%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fiscal 2024 EPS is pegged at $6.56, implying a year-over-year increase of 7.54%.

American Water’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.76%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2024 EPS stands at $5.17, calling for a year-over-year increase of 6.78%.

Entergy’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 6.43%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $7.22, indicating a year-over-year rise of 7.05%.

 

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