JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 683,557 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 74,358 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.68% of New Jersey Resources worth $31,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NJR shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

NJR stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.71. 657,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,606. The firm's 50 day moving average is $47.75 and its 200 day moving average is $47.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $40.62 and a twelve month high of $51.95.

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 return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio 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.