Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 83,963.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 136,020 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of New Jersey Resources worth $6,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $935,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,564,868 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,881,000 after acquiring an additional 373,802 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 56.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,681 shares during the period. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.0% in the third quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 163,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,650,000 after purchasing an additional 29,492 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.70. 367,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,487. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $38.92 and a 1-year high of $52.28. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $42.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.61.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is 68.85%.

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.