New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR opened at $46.97 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $40.20 and a 1-year high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $1,495,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares during the period. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.