New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 78.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $46.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $39.44 and a 52-week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

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.