New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NJR. Mizuho increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR opened at $51.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.52. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is presently 61.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after buying an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 65.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 480,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,623,000 after buying an additional 190,028 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,590,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.