Man Group plc Sells 93,039 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Man Group plc reduced its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 83.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 93,039 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $73,124,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,363,495 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,607,000 after purchasing an additional 542,089 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 311,216 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,372,000 after purchasing an additional 216,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,994,000 after purchasing an additional 210,538 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.67.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NJR traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.25. The stock had a trading volume of 58,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.66. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

New Jersey 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.