Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $21.24 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 455,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,050 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of New Jersey Resources worth $21,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 127,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,954,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Five 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.83.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NJR traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 510,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,040. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.66. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. New Jersey Resources's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

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.