Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $583,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,495,000. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE NJR opened at $47.79 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.62 and a 52 week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. 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, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

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.