Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 21,599 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 41.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,599 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in NewJersey Resources by 107.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 13,692.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NewJersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of NewJersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NJR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.29.

NewJersey Resources Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $45.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.61. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.33 and a 12-month high of $51.95.

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

NewJersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.