Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 3,076.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 311,216 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of New Jersey Resources worth $14,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NJR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.3 %

NJR opened at $48.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

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.