New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $54.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $52.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.56% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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 raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $47.55 on Thursday. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.86. 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 company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,581,000 after buying an additional 255,503 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,590,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,956,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,372,000 after purchasing an additional 154,441 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.