New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Upgraded to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price objective on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.83.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:NJR traded up $0.32 on Wednesday, reaching $46.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 616,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,463. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $41.58 and a 12-month high of $51.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.80.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About New Jersey 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.