New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Price Target Raised to $47.00 at Mizuho

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price objective increased by Mizuho from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Argus raised New Jersey Resources to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR opened at $47.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.01. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $38.92 and a 12-month high of $48.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 71.15%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 46,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 3.6% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.