Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $690,000 Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,450 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,414,000 after buying an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,959,000 after buying an additional 110,723 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,754,000 after acquiring an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,948,000 after acquiring an additional 81,866 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.14. The stock had a trading volume of 487,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,393. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.33 and a 52 week high of $51.94.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.