Mattern Capital Management LLC Sells 3,400 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Mattern Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC owned 0.17% of New Jersey Resources worth $7,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,714,000 after purchasing an additional 34,782 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,953,000 after acquiring an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after acquiring an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,918,000 after acquiring an additional 17,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 352,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.41 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.51 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.