Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 13,050 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 455,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,050 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.45% of New Jersey Resources worth $21,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 13,692.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of 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. Five equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.83.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $46.18 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $41.58 and a 52 week high of $51.95. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average is $47.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.66.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.