New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NJR. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock opened at $48.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.35. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $51.95.

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

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

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.