New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 51.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,317 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,714,000 after buying an additional 34,782 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 17,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 352,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 1.6 %

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $48.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E 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 fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.08.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.