Seven Eight Capital LP Invests $638,000 in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 14,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NJR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,897,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $530,381,000 after purchasing an additional 332,420 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,956,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,372,000 after buying an additional 154,441 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the second 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 period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 917,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,357,000 after buying an additional 8,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,542,000 after acquiring an additional 92,152 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $153,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NJR. Mizuho increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Argus raised shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $47.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $38.92 and a twelve month high of $48.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.00.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 23rd. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.15%.

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.