NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR Shares Sold by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 5.1%, owning now 240,226 shares worth approximately $10.77 million.
• NewJersey Resources announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.475 per share, yielding 4.1% annually.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $51.43 for NewJersey Resources, with recent upgrades and downgrades from various financial institutions.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 240,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,869 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.24% of NewJersey Resources worth $10,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on NJR shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE NJR traded down $0.35 on Monday, reaching $46.58. 851,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 589,653. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.80 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

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

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from NewJersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.01%.

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.