New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.83.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.7%

NJR opened at $46.56 on Wednesday. New Jersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $41.58 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $48.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.66.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $732.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after acquiring an additional 96,393 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $429,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,665,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.