Aigen Investment Management LP Buys Shares of 10,641 NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP acquired 10,641 shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation, valued at approximately $522,000, during the first quarter.
• Recent trades by insiders include COO Patrick J. Migliaccio selling 1,500 shares at an average price of $44.22, reducing their ownership by 4.03%.
• Brokerages have varying outlooks on NJR, with Wells Fargo increasing their target price to $53.00, while Mizuho adjusted theirs downward to $50.00.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in NewJersey Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in NewJersey Resources by 13,692.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NewJersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $66,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.95. 756,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 619,583. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.80 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.64. 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 50-day moving average of $45.67 and a 200 day moving average of $46.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $305.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NewJersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.43.

About NewJersey 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.