Guggenheim Increases New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Price Target to $54.00

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price objective lifted by Guggenheim from $53.00 to $54.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR opened at $46.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.88. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $40.33 and a 12-month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

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 shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after buying an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in 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 buying an additional 81,866 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% in 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 buying an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 302.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after buying an additional 29,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,918,000 after buying an additional 17,664 shares in the last quarter. 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.