Boston Partners Has $761,000 Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Boston Partners trimmed its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 94.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 263,547 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $48.46 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.62 and a 52 week high of $51.95. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.40 and its 200 day moving average is $47.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.