BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,319 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,001,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 247.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 31,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 22,538 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 110.5% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 9,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NJR shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR stock opened at $49.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $39.44 and a 1 year high of $51.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.72.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

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.