JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Price

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.52% from the company’s current price.

NJR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR opened at $47.05 on Tuesday. New Jersey Resources has a 12 month low of $39.44 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.82.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NJR. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.