SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 698.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 99,204 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.11% of New Jersey Resources worth $5,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $620,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $258,000. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 176.0% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 185,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,934,000 after acquiring an additional 118,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 119,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of New Jersey Resources 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 168,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NJR opened at $45.90 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $39.44 and a 1-year high of $48.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.16 and a 200 day moving average of $44.30.

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

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 71.15%.

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.