Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $770,000 Stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 23.1% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 2.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 4.1% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $45.67 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.28. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.46 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $912.32 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.43.

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.