Norges Bank Purchases New Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,567,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,124,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.56% of New Jersey Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.60.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $49.60 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $40.62 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

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.