AlphaQuest LLC Has $52,000 Stock Holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly reduced its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation, decreasing its holdings by 98.5% to just 1,051 shares after selling 70,774 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on NJR, with JPMorgan lowering the price target from $56.00 to $51.00 and Mizuho reducing theirs from $52.00 to $50.00, while Wells Fargo raised their target from $51.00 to $53.00.
• NewJersey Resources reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.06, exceeding expectations, although revenue for the period was below analyst predictions at $298.95 million.

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 98.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 70,774 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NewJersey Resources has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NJR traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $46.31. 146,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,641. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.67. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a one year low of $43.80 and a one year high of $51.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

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.