Confluence Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its stock position in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 2.0%, selling 8,796 shares and owning approximately 0.43% of the company valued at $19.36 million.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.475 per share, representing a 4.0% yield, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.45.
• NewJersey Resources reported earnings of $0.06 EPS for the recent quarter, beating analyst expectations, despite revenue of $298.95 million being below estimates of $305.05 million.

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,796 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.43% of NewJersey Resources worth $19,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 83.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:NJR opened at $47.16 on Friday. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.80 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.98.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The business had revenue of $298.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at NewJersey Resources

In related 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

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.

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