New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) COO Patrick J. Migliaccio Sells 4,983 Shares

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR opened at $46.52 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.13. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94. 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 (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 company had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. New Jersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 61.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.