Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.34 Million Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,714,000 after purchasing an additional 34,782 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,127,000 after purchasing an additional 39,641 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 422,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 17,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR opened at $48.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.16. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.