Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 101,269 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 30.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 230,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 101,269 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of New Jersey Resources worth $10,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 24,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 255 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 41.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 14,150 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.3% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 127,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on NJR shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $48.01 on Monday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.11. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $48.68.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.31%.

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.