Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 96,393 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.21% of New Jersey Resources worth $56,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NJR. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 31,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 11,478 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $314,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $497,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

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

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded down $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.30. 440,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,617. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.