Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Buys Shares of 5,612 NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. invested approximately $252,000 in NewJersey Resources Corporation by purchasing 5,612 shares during the second quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest in the utilities provider.
• NewJersey Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.475 per share, representing a yield of 4.1% and demonstrating the company's commitment to returning value to its shareholders.
• The company's stock was upgraded by several analysts, with Raymond James setting a new price target of $50.00, reflecting positive investor sentiment and expectations for future performance.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 3.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,424,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $168,019,000 after purchasing an additional 115,570 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,274,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,531,000 after purchasing an additional 7,132 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in NewJersey Resources in the first quarter valued at $29,509,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 475,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,197,000 after purchasing an additional 13,580 shares during the period. Finally, Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 33.1% in the first quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 463,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,761,000 after purchasing an additional 115,341 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NJR traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, reaching $47.11. The stock had a trading volume of 131,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,717. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.68 and a 200 day moving average of $46.90. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.80 and a twelve month high of $51.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.05 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

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

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.