Claro Advisors LLC Sells 12,003 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Claro Advisors LLC reduced its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,003 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC's holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,897,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $530,381,000 after acquiring an additional 332,420 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 41.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 14,150 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the first quarter worth $1,635,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,581,000 after acquiring an additional 255,503 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 338,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,971. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $48.68. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.58.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $275.64 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from New Jersey Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on NJR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.00.

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.