International Assets Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 4,620.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 81,866 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of New Jersey Resources worth $3,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 46,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $45.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $48.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The company had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. 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.