AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its holdings in New Jersey Resources Corporation by 11.9%, owning 369,257 shares after selling 49,878 shares in the first quarter.
• New Jersey Resources reported $0.06 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations by $0.12.
• Research analysts have varied price targets for NJR, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreasing their target from $56.00 to $51.00, while Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating with a target of $50.00.

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 369,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 49,878 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.37% of NewJersey Resources worth $18,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,569 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 190,062 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,866,000 after acquiring an additional 62,050 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 31,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $458,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NJR traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 409,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,561. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.98. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.80 and a 1 year high of $51.94. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.05 million. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of NewJersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources 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.