New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) PT Raised to $47.00 at Mizuho

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price objective increased by Mizuho from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on NJR. StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded New Jersey Resources to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $47.34 on Friday. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $38.92 and a 12-month high of $48.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.08 and a 200-day moving average of $44.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $620,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth $258,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 176.0% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 185,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,934,000 after acquiring an additional 118,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 119,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About New Jersey 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.