New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 216,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $154,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in New Jersey Resources by 140.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 110,723 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $271,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 609,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,754,000 after acquiring an additional 86,742 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:NJR opened at $49.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $41.58 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.61.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.