UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,461 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.29% of New Jersey Resources worth $13,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6,245.8% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 13,692.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.67.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.6%

NJR stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,215. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The business had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

About New Jersey 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.