Hilltop Holdings Inc. Invests $216,000 in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR stock opened at $49.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.73. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Guggenheim upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

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.