Creative Planning Boosts Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Creative Planning grew its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 215.5% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock opened at $45.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.38. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $39.44 and a 52-week high of $48.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares in the company, valued at $7,601,847.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NJR. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

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.