Jennison Associates LLC Buys Shares of 30,766 NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,509,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 13,692.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Mizuho cut their price target 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 Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.29.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

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

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NJR traded down $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $45.87. 199,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 624,950. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.33 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. 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 50-day moving average price of $45.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.61.

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

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.