Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,098 New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

NJR opened at $45.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $40.34 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

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.