NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.4286.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered NewJersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NewJersey Resources stock opened at $46.69 on Friday. NewJersey Resources has a one year low of $43.80 and a one year high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $912.32 million during the quarter. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%. On average, research analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.475 dividend. This is a boost from NewJersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. NewJersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NewJersey Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,671,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,509,000. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 145.7% in the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 798,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,796,000 after acquiring an additional 473,664 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 77.1% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 730,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,732,000 after acquiring an additional 317,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 127.5% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 347,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,580,000 after acquiring an additional 194,836 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NewJersey 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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