Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,845 New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $86,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after buying an additional 81,866 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 302.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 29,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,918,000 after acquiring an additional 17,664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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 on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $45.85 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.34 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.88.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.93%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

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.