Brokerages Set New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Price Target at $51.75

Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $45.85 on Monday. New Jersey Resources has a 52-week low of $40.34 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.03 and a 200 day moving average of $46.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 221,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,326,000 after buying an additional 96,103 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,736,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 19,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.