Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Purchases 2,833 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at $76,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 215.5% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NJR shares. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target 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.

Insider Activity

In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $45.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.41. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $39.44 and a 1 year high of $48.68.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.15%.

New Jersey Resources 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.