NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Receives $51.43 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.4286.

NJR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NewJersey Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 0.8% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 31,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 0.8% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 33,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NewJersey Resources Trading Up 0.3%

NJR opened at $47.94 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. NewJersey Resources has a 12 month low of $43.80 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The business had revenue of $298.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $305.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This is an increase from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.45%.

About NewJersey 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.