New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position 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 during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $48.04 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $40.62 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued 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 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% 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.