AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 111,771 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 419,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 111,771 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.42% of New Jersey Resources worth $19,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,124,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 311,216 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,372,000 after buying an additional 216,000 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,994,000 after buying an additional 210,538 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted 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 worth $8,959,000 after buying an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.33.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.29. 648,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 536,711. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.81. 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 52 week low of $41.58 and a 52 week high of $51.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.66.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The business's revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

New Jersey Resources Profile

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.