Captrust Financial Advisors Boosts Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $312,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 29.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,894 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,336,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE NJR opened at $48.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.79. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.64%.

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.