Northern Trust Corp Sells 66,415 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 4.9%, selling 66,415 shares and now holding approximately 1.28% of the company valued at $62.99 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on NJR, with ratings ranging from "outperform" to "hold," and an average target price set at $51.43.
• NewJersey Resources recently reported a quarterly earnings beat with earnings per share (EPS) of $0.06, surpassing analyst expectations and marking an 8.5% revenue increase year-over-year.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,283,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 66,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.28% of NewJersey Resources worth $62,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $66,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,211.80. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NewJersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NJR stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $47.32. The company had a trading volume of 574,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 615,716. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.80 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $46.23 and its 200 day moving average is $46.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.76.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The company had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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.