Trexquant Investment LP Buys 96,103 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) by 76.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 221,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 96,103 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.22% of New Jersey Resources worth $10,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 acquiring an additional 56,789 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,295,000 after acquiring an additional 11,319 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at about $141,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 482.0% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NJR shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on shares of New Jersey Resources in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded down $0.91 on Monday, hitting $46.95. 277,778 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 515,738. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $51.95.

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, topping 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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of New Jersey Resources 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.