Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 3,176 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,176 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 255,503 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth about $8,590,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after buying an additional 176,396 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 155,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,956,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,372,000 after acquiring an additional 154,441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $47.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.63. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.75 and a 200-day moving average of $45.95. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $39.44 and a 52-week high of $51.94.

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. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 61.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources 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.