Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases 3,800 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $5,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $47.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. The business had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. New Jersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Mizuho raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

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.