New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased 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. Mizuho raised 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, 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 research note on Wednesday, November 27th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.10. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. The company 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 company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 255,503 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,889,000 after acquiring an additional 40,094 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.