Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Price

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price target lifted by Guggenheim from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $51.61 on Wednesday. New Jersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.42.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after buying an additional 176,396 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,889,000 after purchasing an additional 40,094 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 155,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,653,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About New Jersey Resources

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.