Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 1,117 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,124,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,990,000 after purchasing an additional 311,216 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 valued at $56,526,000 after purchasing an additional 96,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 221,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,326,000 after purchasing an additional 96,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This represents a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR opened at $46.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.44. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 54.22%.

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.