Sei Investments Co. Grows Position in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NJR. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,509,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,363,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,607,000 after purchasing an additional 542,089 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,309,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,372,000 after purchasing an additional 216,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,350,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,994,000 after purchasing an additional 210,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in NewJersey Resources by 6,150.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 143,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,016,000 after purchasing an additional 140,722 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:NJR opened at $46.95 on Friday. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.80 and a 1 year high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.94.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.05 million. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered NewJersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NewJersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $66,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,211.80. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

About NewJersey 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.