12,161 Shares in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Bought by iSAM Funds UK Ltd

iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NJR traded down $0.62 on Friday, hitting $49.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 469,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,549. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $47.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.74. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources 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.