NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NJR. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $47.8830 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.92. NewJersey Resources has a twelve month low of $43.80 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $305.05 million. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NewJersey Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the second quarter worth $244,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 16.5% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 53,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 7,580 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 62.1% during the second quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 24,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 9,531 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 5.4% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 133,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,974,000 after acquiring an additional 6,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in NewJersey Resources by 57.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 4,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.