Legal & General Group Plc Has $10.16 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 217,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,207 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $10,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,665,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $49.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.50. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.52 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued 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 3.62%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.50.

New Jersey 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.