Patrick J. Migliaccio Sells 4,983 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Stock

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.4 %

NJR opened at $46.52 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 firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.13.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. New Jersey Resources’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.