New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Holdings Boosted by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NJR. StockNews.com cut New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $47.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 61.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.