Wellington Management Group LLP Raises Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 819,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 92,152 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.83% of New Jersey Resources worth $36,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,564,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $469,881,000 after buying an additional 373,802 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,668,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,944,000 after purchasing an additional 9,746 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,093,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,730,000 after purchasing an additional 16,289 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 848,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,403,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.0 %

NJR stock opened at $42.07 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.56. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $38.92 and a 12 month high of $48.07.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.08. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $657.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.64 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NJR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus raised shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $856,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,548.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.