New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Upgraded to “Overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $54.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $52.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $47.83 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.84. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $39.44 and a 1-year high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.