New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,189 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $3,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $49.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.27. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock 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, Guggenheim increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

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.