Aquatic Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 12,315 New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,315 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

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

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NJR traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.84. The stock had a trading volume of 94,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 533,337. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $41.58 and a 12 month high of $51.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.78. 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 (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is 54.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.33.

New Jersey Resources Company 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.