New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Receives $49.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.75.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $51.58 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.41. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $39.44 and a 1-year high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.64%.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after acquiring an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 480,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,623,000 after purchasing an additional 190,028 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,590,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.