New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR opened at $49.02 on Tuesday. New Jersey Resources has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.41. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced 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 net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $113,968.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,526,000 after acquiring an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,665,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 22.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 60,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth $429,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.