Ethic Inc. Has $1.49 Million Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Ethic Inc. increased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,415 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 190,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,866,000 after buying an additional 62,050 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 303,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,177,000 after acquiring an additional 115,995 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,569 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 37,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 25,938 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.56. 616,809 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 540,879. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $51.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $48.46 and its 200 day moving average is $47.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The business had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources's revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on 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. Guggenheim boosted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.83.

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.