Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 36,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NJR. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $46.14 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.22 and a 200 day moving average of $46.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.33 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.