13,101 Shares in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NJR. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $49.18. The company had a trading volume of 564,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,205. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.59 and its 200 day moving average is $47.76. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $41.58 and a 52 week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.