NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 3.5%, acquiring an additional 115,570 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 3.41% of the company.
• NewJersey Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share, exceeding expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.5%, despite revenue falling short of analyst estimates.
• Analyst ratings on NewJersey Resources show a mixed outlook, with some firms increasing price targets while others downgrade their assessments, leading to an average target price of $51.43.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,424,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 115,570 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.41% of NewJersey Resources worth $168,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 13,955 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $3,665,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 833.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 245,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,466,000 after acquiring an additional 55,969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the firm'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 value of $66,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE NJR traded down $0.5660 during trading on Monday, reaching $47.3440. The stock had a trading volume of 482,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,832. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.64. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.80 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.93.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. NewJersey Resources's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.