New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Holdings Lifted by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 192.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,581,000 after acquiring an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,889,000 after purchasing an additional 40,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.05. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $39.44 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

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.