Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $5.87 Million Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.13% of New Jersey Resources worth $5,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after buying an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after buying an additional 96,393 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.2% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 60,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,840,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,843,000 after buying an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $48.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.30. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources 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.