J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 4,673 New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 14,150 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,581,000 after acquiring an additional 255,503 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,889,000 after acquiring an additional 40,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 155,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,653,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR opened at $48.01 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.11. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $39.44 and a 12 month high of $48.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.