Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 8,450 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,450 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after buying an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 302.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 29,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 17,664 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NJR opened at $48.17 on Tuesday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.86.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 61.64%.

New Jersey Resources Company 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.