New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Position Raised by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.06% of New Jersey Resources worth $2,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at about $554,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 482.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.18. 469,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,691. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.69.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.64%.

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.