StockNews.com Upgrades New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) to "Hold"

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

NJR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:NJR traded down $0.81 on Tuesday, hitting $46.14. The stock had a trading volume of 487,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,910. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $40.33 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The business's fifty day moving average is $47.22 and its 200 day moving average is $46.88. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

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

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 buying an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.