New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted 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, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 1.5 %

NJR opened at $50.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.38.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 255,503 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 480,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,623,000 after acquiring an additional 190,028 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,590,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,430,000 after acquiring an additional 176,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.