Xponance Inc. Acquires 1,663 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $48.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $40.62 and a 12 month high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

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.