New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $45.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.64. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.64%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,581,000 after buying an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth $94,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 17.9% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 12,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth $381,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% 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.