Icon Advisers Inc. Co. Has $4.90 Million Stock Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. decreased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,634 shares during the quarter. New Jersey Resources comprises approximately 1.1% of Icon Advisers Inc. Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. owned about 0.10% of New Jersey Resources worth $4,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,591,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $120,891,000 after buying an additional 32,413 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,714,000 after acquiring an additional 34,782 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $73,124,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,127,000 after acquiring an additional 39,641 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on NJR shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,052. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $41.58 and a 52 week high of $51.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.52.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 23,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

New Jersey Resources Company 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.