Summit Global Investments Raises Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 70.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,777 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 51,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,408,000 after buying an additional 12,261 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $429,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 125,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,865,000 after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NJR shares. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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. Four investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $48.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.62 and a 52 week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

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.