EntryPoint Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 110.5% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 9,918 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,227,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,953,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 153.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,789 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 247.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 31,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 22,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NJR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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. Guggenheim increased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock opened at $47.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $40.62 and a 12 month high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.22%.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.