New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Thursday, August 15th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $50.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.66. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $39.44 and a 1-year high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. New Jersey Resources’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after buying an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after buying an additional 176,396 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after buying an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after buying an additional 81,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,889,000 after buying an additional 40,094 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.