Horizon Investment Services LLC Buys New Position in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,665,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 6,339 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $429,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NJR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.29.

NewJersey Resources Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded up $0.72 on Monday, reaching $46.45. The company had a trading volume of 533,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,256. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $42.33 and a 52-week high of $51.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $45.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.61.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.00 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 20.03%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NewJersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $66,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.