Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Decreases Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 396,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,867 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.39% of New Jersey Resources worth $18,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NJR. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NJR shares. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR traded up $0.99 on Friday, reaching $49.38. 743,300 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 506,409. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.