NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 6.2%, now owning shares worth approximately $7.13 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 70.98% of NewJersey Resources' stock, with significant movements including Lazard Asset Management's 6,245.8% increase in holdings.
• NewJersey Resources reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.06 for the recent quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting an 8.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,586 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.14% of NewJersey Resources worth $7,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 13,692.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 lowered shares of NewJersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho cut 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 report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Trading Up 0.9%

NewJersey Resources stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.62. The company had a trading volume of 526,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,953. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.80 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $45.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $298.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.09) earnings per share. NewJersey Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NewJersey Resources

In other NewJersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.