New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.75.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Guggenheim upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $50.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is presently 61.64%.

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.