New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Sells $113,968.68 in Stock

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.86. The stock had a trading volume of 551,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.33.

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

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NJR shares. Guggenheim upped their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,736,000 after acquiring an additional 408 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.