Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Price

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.07% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on NJR. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NJR stock traded up $1.18 on Wednesday, reaching $51.89. 116,040 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 487,647. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,956,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,372,000 after acquiring an additional 154,441 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,714,000 after purchasing an additional 34,782 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,889,000 after purchasing an additional 40,094 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.