New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of research firms recently commented on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 302.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 39,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 29,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 17,664 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.46. The company had a trading volume of 413,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,423. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.94 and a 200-day moving average of $46.88. New Jersey Resources has a 12 month low of $40.51 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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 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 last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is 54.22%.

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.