Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 6,027 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 2.9% in Q2, selling 6,027 shares, and now owns 201,749 shares valued at approximately $9 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.475 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%, up from the previous $0.45 per share.
• Analysts generally hold a consensus rating of "Hold" for NewJersey Resources, with a current average price target of $51.43 per share.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,749 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,027 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.20% of NewJersey Resources worth $9,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in NewJersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $252,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 49,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the 1st quarter worth $442,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $46.99 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a one year low of $43.80 and a one year high of $51.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

NewJersey Resources Company 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.

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