Two Sigma Advisers LP Grows Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 1,061.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 87,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.09% of New Jersey Resources worth $4,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 152,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,095,000 after purchasing an additional 67,760 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 305,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,233,000 after purchasing an additional 123,100 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $613,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 475,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,197,000 after buying an additional 13,580 shares during the period. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 8,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 2,849 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NJR shares. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.67.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $45.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,832. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.78. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $41.68 and a 52-week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm's revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

New Jersey 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.