R Squared Ltd Takes Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.50.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $47.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.36. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $39.44 and a 12 month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given 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 yield of 3.76%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

About New Jersey 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.