EntryPoint Capital LLC Takes Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 311,216 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $680,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,885,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $47.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.34. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its 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 net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.