Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 7,127 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,127 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NJR. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 13,692.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NJR. Guggenheim raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.83.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.42. 66,100 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,748. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.66. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $41.58 and a 12 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.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $913.03 million for 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%. New Jersey Resources's revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.