Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 14,338 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned about 0.16% of New Jersey Resources worth $6,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 6,165 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,403,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 201,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,978,000 after purchasing an additional 80,219 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 61,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 9,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 40,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 7,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $47.64 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $38.92 and a 52-week high of $48.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.02 and its 200-day moving average is $43.99.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase 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 currently 71.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus upgraded New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

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

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.