Ibex Wealth Advisors Buys New Shares in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after buying an additional 155,352 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after buying an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 698.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,353,000 after acquiring an additional 99,204 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after acquiring an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $47.05 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $39.44 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.80 and a 200-day moving average of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.50.

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.