Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 900 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the first quarter valued at about $125,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $47.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $38.92 and a 52-week high of $47.64.

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

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,788,725. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares in the company, valued at $8,788,725. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NJR. Argus upgraded New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

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.