Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C) Rating for NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR)

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR)‘s stock had its “hold (c)” rating reiterated by Weiss Ratings in a report released on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

NJR has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

NewJersey Resources stock opened at $46.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.61. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. NewJersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $43.80 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $912.32 million for the quarter. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of NewJersey Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,671,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,509,000. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 145.7% in the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 798,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,796,000 after acquiring an additional 473,664 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 77.1% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 730,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,732,000 after acquiring an additional 317,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 127.5% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 347,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,580,000 after buying an additional 194,836 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.