Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Position in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,372,000 after buying an additional 216,000 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,591,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $120,891,000 after buying an additional 32,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $73,124,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,363,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,607,000 after buying an additional 542,089 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,994,000 after buying an additional 210,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on NJR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NewJersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NewJersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $66,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

NewJersey Resources Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NewJersey Resources stock opened at $46.04 on Friday. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $42.33 and a 52-week high of $51.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.71 and a 200 day moving average of $46.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.61.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $732.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. NewJersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

NewJersey Resources Company 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.