New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE NJR opened at $46.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.88. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,714,000 after acquiring an additional 34,782 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 17,664 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, distributes natural gas. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 576,000 customers in Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets.