Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC Invests $42,000 in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 155,352 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,959,000 after acquiring an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after acquiring an additional 96,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after acquiring an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NJR opened at $48.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.01. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

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.