Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 67,997 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 181.6% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.11% of the company worth around $5.16 million.
• During the same period, other institutional investors also made significant moves, with 70.98% of the stock currently held by institutions and hedge funds.
• NewJersey Resources reported earnings of $0.06 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, despite a revenue figure that was slightly below analyst forecasts.

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 181.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 67,997 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.11% of NewJersey Resources worth $5,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in NewJersey Resources by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 159,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,815,000 after buying an additional 43,074 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 356.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 124,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,128,000 after acquiring an additional 97,553 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 23.8% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 39,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,424,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $168,019,000 after purchasing an additional 115,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NJR shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.32. 574,151 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 615,716. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.96. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.80 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 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 (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.05 million. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey 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.