AlphaQuest LLC Has $3.35 Million Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 82.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,456 shares during the quarter. New Jersey Resources comprises 0.4% of AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $3,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after acquiring an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 302.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 29,575 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 17,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $47.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

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.