Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at about $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted 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 worth $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in 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. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.85. 539,199 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 535,456. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $40.51 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.85.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

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.