Legal & General Group Plc Sells 51,069 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in NewJersey Resources by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 51,069 shares and leaving it with 164,593 shares valued at about $7.6 million.
• NewJersey Resources recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $2.20 versus $1.89 expected and revenue of $939.4 million versus $849.95 million expected. The company also raised its FY 2026 guidance to $3.48-$3.63 EPS.
• Analysts remain generally positive on NJR, with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $58.17. The stock also offers a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, or a 3.4% annual yield.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,069 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.16% of NewJersey Resources worth $7,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in NewJersey Resources by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,566,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $171,717,000 after acquiring an additional 130,831 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,335,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,297,000 after purchasing an additional 14,512 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,158,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,792,000 after purchasing an additional 111,696 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 951,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,816,000 after purchasing an additional 152,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 916,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,135,000 after purchasing an additional 85,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on NJR shares. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on NewJersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho lifted their target price on NewJersey Resources from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Argus set a $63.00 target price on NewJersey Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $58.17.

NewJersey Resources Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE NJR opened at $55.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 0.50. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.46 and a 52 week high of $58.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $939.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.95 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. NewJersey Resources has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.480-3.630 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. NewJersey Resources's payout ratio is presently 56.38%.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 3,000 shares of NewJersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.84, for a total transaction of $167,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,679.68. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Roberto Bel sold 6,105 shares of NewJersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $336,385.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,878. The trade was a 23.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,704 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,389 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources Company Profile

New Jersey Resources Corporation is a publicly traded energy services holding company headquartered in Wall Township, New Jersey. The firm's primary focus is on the safe and reliable distribution of natural gas, along with complementary energy services and renewable energy investments. Its operations center on delivering cost-effective solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout the state.

The company's principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas, owns and operates an extensive pipeline network that spans northern, central and southern New Jersey.

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