Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,816 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 833.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,124,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 311,216 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 221,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,326,000 after buying an additional 96,103 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $49.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.11 and a 200 day moving average of $47.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.58. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $41.58 and a one year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NJR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50.

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.