Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Invests $583,000 in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 12,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NJR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew 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 buying an additional 345 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 175,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $49.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.06. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

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.