Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 22,916 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,516,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,916 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.48% of New Jersey Resources worth $537,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92 % 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. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NJR. Guggenheim lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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 upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Five research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.60.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR stock traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,080,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,608. The stock has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.58. 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's 50-day moving average price is $47.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.44. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $40.62 and a 1 year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities 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 paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is presently 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.