Raymond James Begins Coverage on New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR)

Raymond James started coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $49.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.29.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.36. 541,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 625,955. New Jersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $41.68 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.42.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. New Jersey Resources's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. 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 4.06%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.