GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires Shares of 982 New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 489,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,834,000 after purchasing an additional 8,589 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 94.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 39,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 19,216 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $1,221,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $44.70 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $38.92 and a 1-year high of $52.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.52 and a 200 day moving average of $42.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.15). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NJR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th.

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.