Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Takes $6.83 Million Position in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. has purchased 139,309 shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation, valued at approximately $6.83 million, increasing its ownership to 0.14% as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• NewJersey Resources reported earnings of $0.06 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew by 8.5% compared to the same period last year.
• The stock is currently rated as a "Hold" by analysts, with a target price ranging around $51.43, following several recent updates to price recommendations from various financial institutions.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 139,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,834,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of NewJersey Resources as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources Stock Up 1.2%

NJR stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.44. 581,538 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 622,042. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.53 and its 200 day moving average is $46.98. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.80 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The business had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is an increase from NewJersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey 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.