Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 48.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,498 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 46,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.3% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 40,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NJR shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $45.20 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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