JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $28.75 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 609,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.61% of New Jersey Resources worth $28,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 8,230 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $111,714,000 after buying an additional 34,782 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,959,000 after buying an additional 110,723 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 503,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,963. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.64.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million for 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 was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.