Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of New Jersey Resources worth $5,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NJR shares. Argus raised shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $856,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,548.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NJR traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.63. The company had a trading volume of 314,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,477. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.86. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $38.92 and a fifty-two week high of $47.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.08. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $657.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.64 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.40%.

About New Jersey 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.