Insider Selling: New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Sells 2,346 Shares of Stock

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.3 %

NJR traded down $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.86. 551,577 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 461,913. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $51.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.