Sanctuary Advisors LLC Has $1.15 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,230 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.0 %

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.04. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

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.