New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lessened its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 51.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,317 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $48.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.08. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $40.62 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.