Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $34,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 39,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 33,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock opened at $41.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $38.92 and a 12-month high of $55.84. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.97 and a 200-day moving average of $42.42.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $467.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

New Jersey Resources 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.