Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Cox Capital Mgt LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 180.8% in the 1st quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 75,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after buying an additional 48,703 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 172,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,680,000 after acquiring an additional 28,953 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the first quarter worth about $19,337,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,897,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,381,000 after purchasing an additional 332,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 41.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 14,150 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Argus raised New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock worth $1,351,596 over the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $46.31 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.60. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $38.92 and a 1 year high of $47.37.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. New Jersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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.