Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 12,261 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,261 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.05% of New Jersey Resources worth $2,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 110.5% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 9,918 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $57,953,000 after acquiring an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 153.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,789 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,001,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 30.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 11,319 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE NJR traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.38. The company had a trading volume of 743,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,409. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $51.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business's 50-day moving average is $47.59 and its 200 day moving average is $47.39. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. New Jersey Resources's payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NJR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources 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.