NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Stock Rated “Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.50.

NJR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered NewJersey Resources from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. New Street Research set a $68.00 target price on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $61.00 price target on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of NewJersey Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NewJersey Resources stock opened at $53.57 on Wednesday. NewJersey Resources has a twelve month low of $43.72 and a twelve month high of $60.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.44.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $349.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.13 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 16.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 24th. This is an increase from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4750. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Patrick Migliaccio sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.63, for a total value of $166,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,791,397.26. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NewJersey Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,008,340,000. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,592,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $57,722,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,905,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the second quarter worth $22,628,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NewJersey Resources

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.