Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 4,381 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 454,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,381 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $21,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted 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 in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 6.3% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho upped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $229,218.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,704. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR remained flat at $46.65 during midday trading on Thursday. The stock had a trading volume of 114,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,275. 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 capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $39.44 and a one year high of $51.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.85 and a 200 day moving average of $46.24.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

About New Jersey Resources

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.