Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Invests $51,000 in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $45.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $40.34 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.89.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

New Jersey Resources Company Profile

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.