Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the first quarter valued at about $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,725. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,351,596 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $46.21 on Tuesday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $38.92 and a one year high of $47.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The business had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.