New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Stock Holdings Increased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 427,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,104 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.43% of New Jersey Resources worth $19,930,000 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. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $271,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 57.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 8,230 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,754,000 after buying an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NJR stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.41. The company had a trading volume of 40,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,948. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $41.58 and a twelve month high of $51.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price 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. Five equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

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.