New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Stake Lowered by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after acquiring an additional 176,396 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 255,503 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,889,000 after purchasing an additional 40,094 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 10.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 155,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,653,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.8 %

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $51.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.47. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

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.