New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price objective raised by Guggenheim from $53.00 to $54.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NJR opened at $46.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $40.20 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.88.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 61.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after acquiring an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,526,000 after acquiring an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.