Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $8.58 Million Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.18% of New Jersey Resources worth $8,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,736,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. New Street Research set a $51.00 target price on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $49.67 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.58. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $41.52 and a 52 week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

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.

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