Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Invests $252,000 in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. acquired 5,612 shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) valued at approximately $252,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• NewJersey Resources recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.475, up from $0.45, reflecting a 4.1% yield.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on NJR, with Raymond James raising its target price to $50 and others maintaining a hold rating, indicating variable market sentiments.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NJR. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NewJersey Resources by 1.0% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 1.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1.0% during the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 4.1% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR traded down $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $46.58. The stock had a trading volume of 851,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,653. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.76. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.80 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company's 50-day moving average price is $46.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.90.

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

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 4.1%. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NewJersey Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.