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

NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.29.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NJR. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NewJersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NewJersey Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.0% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,398,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 1.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in NewJersey 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 buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in NewJersey Resources by 2.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NewJersey Resources Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NJR stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $45.51. The company had a trading volume of 125,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.93. NewJersey Resources has a twelve month low of $42.33 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.99.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 20.03%. NewJersey Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. NewJersey Resources's payout ratio is 43.69%.

About NewJersey Resources

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.