New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) PT Raised to $51.00

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NJR. Mizuho raised 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 report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $47.02 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources has a 1-year low of $39.44 and a 1-year high of $48.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Cox Capital Mgt LLC lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 180.8% during the 1st quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 75,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 48,703 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 176,396 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,897,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,381,000 after purchasing an additional 332,420 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 41.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 14,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,635,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.