Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,752 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 153.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $48.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.63. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.08. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

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.