Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 685 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 685 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 180.8% in the first quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 75,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48,703 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $19,337,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,897,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,381,000 after buying an additional 332,420 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 14,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter worth $1,635,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other 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 value of $1,198,596.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $153,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Argus upgraded New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $47.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $38.92 and a twelve month high of $48.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.00.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.15%.

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.