New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,823 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 13,692.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.83.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $46.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $41.58 and a twelve month high of $51.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.81.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The company’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

New Jersey Resources Company Profile

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.