Northern Trust Corp Buys 210,538 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 210,538 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.35% of New Jersey Resources worth $62,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92% 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of New Jersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.33.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NJR stock traded down $0.36 on Monday, hitting $46.93. 79,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 534,995. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.60 and a 200 day moving average of $47.82. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.58 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid 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 3.84%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

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.