Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 134,402 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its position in NewJersey Resources Corporation by 83.6%, selling 134,402 shares during the 1st quarter and holding 26,310 shares valued at $1,291,000.
• NewJersey Resources has received mixed analyst ratings, with two analysts giving it a "Buy" rating and an average price target set at $51.43.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.475, representing a yield of 4.1%, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.45.

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 83.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 134,402 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $1,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in NewJersey Resources by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 232,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 83.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $46.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.90. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a one year low of $43.80 and a one year high of $51.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%.The firm 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 firm posted ($0.09) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from NewJersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. NewJersey Resources's payout ratio is currently 44.01%.

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.

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