Cox Capital Mgt LLC Has $1.70 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Cox Capital Mgt LLC reduced its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 48.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 34,349 shares during the period. Cox Capital Mgt LLC's holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.39. 605,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 491,193. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut New Jersey Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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 an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

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.