ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 141,010 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 484,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 141,010 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $24,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 44.3% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 21,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 6,611 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 14.6% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 54,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 6,904 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in NewJersey Resources by 14.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 92,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,703,000 after acquiring an additional 11,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Huntington initiated coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NewJersey Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.50.

NewJersey Resources Stock Up 1.7%

NJR opened at $54.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.41. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.46 and a twelve month high of $60.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.48.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.05. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $349.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 24th. This is a positive change from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4750. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NewJersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick Migliaccio sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.63, for a total transaction of $166,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,791,397.26. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

NewJersey Resources Company Profile

New Jersey Resources Corporation (NYSE: NJR) is an energy services holding company headquartered in New Jersey. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides natural gas distribution, energy management, storage and transportation, and clean energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

New Jersey Natural Gas, the company’s principal regulated utility, distributes natural gas to customers in central and northern New Jersey. Its energy services operations manage natural gas supplies and provide related products and services, while its storage and transportation activities support the movement and availability of natural gas through regional infrastructure.

The company also invests in renewable energy and other lower-carbon initiatives, including solar generation and clean energy solutions.