Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Buys 154,288 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 613.8% in the first quarter, buying 154,288 additional shares and lifting its position to 179,425 shares worth about $9.85 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with analysts assigning an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $58.17. Recent reports from Argus, Wells Fargo, Mizuho, and Weiss Ratings included price targets as high as $63 and multiple bullish ratings.
• NewJersey Resources reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.20 versus the $1.89 estimate and revenue of $939.4 million, both ahead of expectations. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, implying a 3.2% annual yield.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 613.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 179,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 154,288 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned 0.18% of NewJersey Resources worth $9,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,934,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $181,446,000 after buying an additional 367,844 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $121,285,000 after acquiring an additional 10,448 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,335,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,297,000 after acquiring an additional 14,512 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in NewJersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,075,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in NewJersey Resources by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,283,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,197,000 after acquiring an additional 208,388 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus set a $63.00 price objective on NewJersey Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on NewJersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on NewJersey Resources from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NewJersey Resources currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.17.

NewJersey Resources Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $59.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.50. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.46 and a 1 year high of $59.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $939.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $849.95 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. NewJersey Resources has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.480-3.630 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NewJersey Resources news, insider Christopher T. D'antuono sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.34, for a total transaction of $65,941.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,985 shares in the company, valued at $171,159.90. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jane M. Kenny sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.10, for a total transaction of $448,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,234,087.80. This represents a 26.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,150 shares of company stock valued at $682,261 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About NewJersey Resources

New Jersey Resources Corporation is a publicly traded energy services holding company headquartered in Wall Township, New Jersey. The firm's primary focus is on the safe and reliable distribution of natural gas, along with complementary energy services and renewable energy investments. Its operations center on delivering cost-effective solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout the state.

The company's principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas, owns and operates an extensive pipeline network that spans northern, central and southern New Jersey.

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