Short Interest in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Declines By 14.5%

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the February 28th total of 2,340,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 591,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $49.60 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $40.62 and a 1 year high of $51.95. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.43. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced 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 firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

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.