Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.62 Million Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 227,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,439 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $10,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $48.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.00. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.94. 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 (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Company Profile

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.