New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Stock Position Raised by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 172.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,491 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,372,000 after acquiring an additional 216,000 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,591,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $120,891,000 after acquiring an additional 32,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,124,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $63,607,000 after acquiring an additional 542,089 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 acquiring an additional 210,538 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim raised their price objective 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.67.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NJR stock opened at $45.32 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $41.58 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

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.