Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 101,269 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 30.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 230,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 101,269 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $10,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.52 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $39.44 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.