JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Price Target to $49.00

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $48.00 to $49.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Argus upgraded New Jersey Resources to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR opened at $45.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.60. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $38.92 and a 1 year high of $47.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.13.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 14.46%. The company had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. New Jersey Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $856,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,548.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $856,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,508,548.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $2,207,996 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 176.0% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 185,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,934,000 after purchasing an additional 118,377 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 119,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 49,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 15,880 shares in the last quarter. 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.