New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Acquired by Susquehanna International Group LLP

Susquehanna International Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 192.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,804 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,745 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP owned 0.05% of New Jersey Resources worth $2,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in 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 purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR traded down $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $46.18. 491,921 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,540. The business's fifty day moving average is $48.56 and its 200 day moving average is $47.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.66. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.58 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The company had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. New Jersey Resources's revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

New Jersey Resources 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.