Roberto Bel Sells 1,173 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Stock

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Roberto Bel also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 24th, Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $49.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.62 and a 52 week high of $51.95. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.43.

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

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on NJR shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 153.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,431,000 after buying an additional 56,789 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at $1,001,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 30.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 11,319 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.