Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Decreases Stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,480 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.36% of NewJersey Resources worth $17,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NewJersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,495,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth $3,665,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 6,339 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 195,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of NewJersey Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,578,211.80. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NJR traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 443,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,810. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.73. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 1 year low of $42.33 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.61.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NewJersey Resources has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.29.

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.