New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the February 28th total of 2,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 591,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

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

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $49.23. The stock had a trading volume of 138,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,657. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.42. New Jersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results 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 prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NJR shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.60.

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.