Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $59.13 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,267,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 39,641 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.27% of New Jersey Resources worth $59,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 302.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,858,000 after buying an additional 29,575 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,526,000 after buying an additional 96,393 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,918,000 after buying an additional 17,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 60,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,840,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NJR. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.28. The stock had a trading volume of 502,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,801. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.20. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

About New Jersey Resources

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.