New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Price Target Raised to $54.00 at Guggenheim

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price target hoisted by Guggenheim from $53.00 to $54.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $46.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.88. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $40.20 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $8,590,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,211,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,754,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.