Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 8.01% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NJR. Guggenheim raised 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. lowered their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of New Jersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.7 %

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $49.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.78. 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 capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.66. New Jersey Resources has a 52-week low of $41.58 and a 52-week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.11. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,526,000 after acquiring an additional 96,393 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth $3,665,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth $429,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 6,250 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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