Graham Capital Management L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 230.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,692 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NJR. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in NewJersey Resources by 6,245.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $66,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,690 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,211.80. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NewJersey Resources stock opened at $47.23 on Wednesday. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.80 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.97. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.67.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.12. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $298.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NJR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of NewJersey Resources from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.43.

NewJersey 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.