Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 78,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,665,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of New Jersey Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NJR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 33,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 valued at $56,526,000 after buying an additional 96,393 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 60,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,840,000 after buying an additional 10,946 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

NJR traded down $0.35 on Monday, reaching $49.02. 1,061,648 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,622. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $40.62 and a twelve month high of $51.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $47.63 and its 200-day moving average is $47.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is 54.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NJR. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim upped 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, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.