NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Receives $51.29 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.29.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NewJersey Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $45.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.61. NewJersey Resources has a 1 year low of $42.33 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.98.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

About NewJersey 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.