Raymond James Financial Reaffirms Outperform Rating for NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR)

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial raised its price target for NewJersey Resources from $49.00 to $50.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating, indicating a potential upside of 5.89% from the last close.
• Despite the positive outlook from some analysts, others have reduced price targets, with Mizuho lowering theirs from $52.00 to $50.00 and assigning a "neutral" rating.
• The company reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.06, surpassing estimates, although its revenue fell short of expectations at $298.95 million.

Raymond James Financial reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Raymond James Financial currently has a $50.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock, up from their previous target price of $49.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NewJersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.62. 526,780 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,994. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.76. NewJersey Resources has a 12 month low of $43.80 and a 12 month high of $51.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%. The company had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NewJersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $66,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,578,211.80. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 153.0% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey 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. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NewJersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 23.1% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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.