New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $45.60 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.80. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $51.95. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.66.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,124,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,509,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,363,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,607,000 after buying an additional 542,089 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,990,000 after buying an additional 311,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,372,000 after buying an additional 216,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.