Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. Cuts Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. cut its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 83.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,416 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 49,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 15,880 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 58.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 4,166 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 23,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 7,950 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 197.7% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 10,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 155,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,653,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NJR has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Argus raised New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $46.86 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.19 and its 200-day moving average is $44.23. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $38.92 and a 52 week high of $48.68. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.