Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,393 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.21% of New Jersey Resources worth $56,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after buying an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 302.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after buying an additional 29,575 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,918,000 after buying an additional 17,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 60,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,840,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $48.40 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $51.94.

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 previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 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 (DPR) is 54.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

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.