New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NJR. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE NJR opened at $46.39 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.51. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.64.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. The business 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 was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

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

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.