New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Roberto Bel Sells 2,346 Shares

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NJR stock opened at $47.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.34. The stock has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. 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 note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.75.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,124,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,363,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,607,000 after purchasing an additional 542,089 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 311,216 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,372,000 after purchasing an additional 216,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,994,000 after purchasing an additional 210,538 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.