Creative Planning Boosts Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 215.5% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NJR opened at $45.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $48.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The company had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.15%.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.