New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.00.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.15. The company had a trading volume of 315,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,486. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.48 and a 200 day moving average of $44.78. New Jersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $48.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 0.59.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $275.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. New Jersey Resources's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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