NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR Stock Holdings Trimmed by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 51.1%, selling 113,097 shares and retaining 108,249 shares worth approximately $5.31 million.
• Insider COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares for $66,330, reducing his ownership by 4.03%, leaving him with about 35,690 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• NewJersey Resources reported $0.06 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while the firm experienced an 8.5% year-over-year revenue increase.

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its position in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 51.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 113,097 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.11% of NewJersey Resources worth $5,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 42.0% during the first 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. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

NewJersey Resources Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 469,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,100. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.80 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NewJersey Resources currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.