NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.8571.

Several brokerages have recently commented on NJR. Mizuho upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. New Street Research set a $54.00 price target on NewJersey Resources in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen cut NewJersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Finally, Argus raised NewJersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $47.90 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.60. NewJersey Resources has a twelve month low of $43.46 and a twelve month high of $50.76.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $336.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.30 million. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 13.73%. NewJersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. NewJersey Resources has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 57.06%.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.46, for a total value of $186,629.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 38,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,499.90. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NewJersey Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 3.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,566,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,717,000 after acquiring an additional 130,831 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,545,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,097,000 after acquiring an additional 16,954 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,335,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,297,000 after purchasing an additional 14,512 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NewJersey Resources in the second quarter valued at $52,671,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in NewJersey Resources by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,158,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,792,000 after purchasing an additional 111,696 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NewJersey Resources

New Jersey Resources Corporation is a publicly traded energy services holding company headquartered in Wall Township, New Jersey. The firm’s primary focus is on the safe and reliable distribution of natural gas, along with complementary energy services and renewable energy investments. Its operations center on delivering cost-effective solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout the state.

The company’s principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas, owns and operates an extensive pipeline network that spans northern, central and southern New Jersey.