New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $5.67 Million Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of New Jersey Resources worth $5,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NJR. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.85. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.51 and a 52-week high of $51.94. 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 market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

New Jersey Resources 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.