PFG Investments LLC Invests $213,000 in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at $76,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $45.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.80. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $39.44 and a one year high of $48.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.59.

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

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 75.31%.

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.