New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) COO Sells $229,218.00 in Stock

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR stock opened at $46.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $39.44 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.15.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. The business had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. New Jersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NJR. Mizuho increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 192.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after buying an additional 255,503 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $8,590,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,430,000 after acquiring an additional 176,396 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 8,995.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 157,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 155,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,956,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,372,000 after purchasing an additional 154,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.