Amundi Purchases 40,220 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Amundi boosted its position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 605.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,220 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $2,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in NewJersey Resources during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $47.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.67. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.80 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.98.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. NewJersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 44.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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, Mizuho lowered their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources 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.