Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of New Jersey Resources worth $9,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $48.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $51.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.30.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.