New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 94.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,216 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,221,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,358.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,195,000 after acquiring an additional 91,997 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $43.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.64. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $38.92 and a 12 month high of $52.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. New Jersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.85%.

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.