New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $45.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.86 and a 200-day moving average of $46.43. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 2.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.