Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 758 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,897,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,381,000 after purchasing an additional 332,420 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,956,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,372,000 after acquiring an additional 154,441 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,889,000 after buying an additional 40,094 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 917,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,357,000 after buying an additional 8,843 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,542,000 after buying an additional 92,152 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the company’s 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,601,847.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’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 transaction of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,788,725. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $45.90 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $48.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Argus raised New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th.

New Jersey Resources 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.