Stifel Financial Corp Has $8.79 Million Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 186,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $8,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NJR. Guggenheim increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR stock opened at $47.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.68 and its 200 day moving average is $45.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $39.44 and a one year high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 61.64%.

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.