California Public Employees Retirement System Has $21.83 Million Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 489,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,589 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $21,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 117,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,762,000 after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 45,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 28,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE NJR opened at $43.34 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.29 and a 200-day moving average of $42.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.64. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $38.92 and a 52 week high of $52.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.66 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NJR shares. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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.