ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 886,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,074 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.90% of New Jersey Resources worth $37,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth $33,403,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80,219 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 17.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 40,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 7,404 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 38,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.1 %

NJR stock opened at $47.64 on Monday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $38.92 and a 1-year high of $48.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.02 and its 200-day moving average is $44.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

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

New Jersey Resources 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.