4,872 Shares in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Acquired by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NJR. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $47.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.77. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.64.

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

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

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.