New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,516,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,916 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.48% of New Jersey Resources worth $537,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 153.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,789 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $1,001,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 30.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $49.02 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.41.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NJR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.