New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,736,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NJR. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $49.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.