Zimmer Partners LP Boosts Stock Holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 49.0%, owning 101,800 shares valued at approximately $4.99 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• NewJersey Resources reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.06, surpassing analyst expectations, while total revenue rose by 8.5% year over year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold for the company's stock, with an average target price of $51.43 following various adjustments from key financial institutions.

Zimmer Partners LP increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 49.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 0.10% of NewJersey Resources worth $4,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in NewJersey Resources by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NewJersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.16. The company had a trading volume of 409,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,215. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.67. 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 1-year low of $43.80 and a 1-year high of $51.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The firm had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This is a positive change from NewJersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.01%.

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.