NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 27.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 107.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 13,692.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 83.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NewJersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $66,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.29.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $45.38 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.00. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 1 year low of $41.68 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.93.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The firm had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

About NewJersey 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.