New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,526,000 after buying an additional 96,393 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $3,665,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 60,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,840,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $429,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NJR opened at $49.02 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.41. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $40.62 and a twelve month high of $51.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

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.