New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 27.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,105 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 81,866 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $179,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $46.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.68. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $39.44 and a 52-week high of $48.68.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The company had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. This is an increase from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 75.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NJR shares. Mizuho increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

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.