New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $46.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.04. New Jersey Resources has a 12 month low of $39.44 and a 12 month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 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.