JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 86,742 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,742 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $28,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew 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 buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NJR. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $45.69 on Wednesday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. The business had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.