New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $5,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,564,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $469,881,000 after purchasing an additional 373,802 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 13.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 56.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,681 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.0% during the third quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 163,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,650,000 after purchasing an additional 29,492 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 171.4% during the third quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 55,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 35,318 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NJR. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $44.70 on Monday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $38.92 and a one year high of $52.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.60. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.62.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $812.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

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.