78,554 Shares in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 78,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,665,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 110.5% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 9,918 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 153.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,789 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at about $1,001,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 30.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after buying an additional 11,319 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NJR. Guggenheim upped 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. lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NJR opened at $48.41 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $51.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.55 and its 200-day moving average is $47.35.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

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