New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Given New $51.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $56.00 to $51.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.99% from the company's current price.

NJR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.67.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

New Jersey Resources stock traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $45.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 70,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,875. The business's fifty day moving average price is $48.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.66. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $41.58 and a twelve month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 42.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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