HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 2,028 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,028 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1.0% during the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,716,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 4.1% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 3.9% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NJR stock opened at $47.3440 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.95 and a 200-day moving average of $46.93. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.80 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.64.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The company had revenue of $298.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.