New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Argus upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $46.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.57. New Jersey Resources has a one year low of $38.92 and a one year high of $47.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.60.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,725. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares in the company, valued at $7,601,847.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $153,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock worth $1,351,596 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth $94,000. 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.