Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Price

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.33.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR traded down $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $46.24. The stock had a trading volume of 271,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,707. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.66. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.82. New Jersey Resources has a 52-week low of $41.58 and a 52-week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $913.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

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 3.89%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,124,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,363,495 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,607,000 after acquiring an additional 542,089 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,990,000 after acquiring an additional 311,216 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $154,372,000 after purchasing an additional 216,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,994,000 after purchasing an additional 210,538 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.