New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 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 objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NJR opened at $45.24 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.48 and a 200-day moving average of $44.82. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $39.44 and a 1 year high of $48.68. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 0.59. 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 (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.07). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 13.61%. The firm had revenue of $275.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Company 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.