Amundi Buys 40,220 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 605.0%, acquiring a total of 46,868 shares valued at approximately $2.33 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.475 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 4.0%.
• NewJersey Resources reported positive earnings of $0.06 per share, exceeding analyst estimates and showing an 8.5% year-over-year revenue growth.

Amundi increased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 605.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,868 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,220 shares during the period. Amundi's holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $2,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 0.0%

NJR traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $47.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 782,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,745. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.80 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.67.

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

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a positive change from NewJersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.01%.

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.