NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on NJR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR stock opened at $45.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.64. NewJersey Resources 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.96 and a 200-day moving average of $46.72.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $912.32 million during the quarter. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. On average, equities analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. NewJersey Resources’s payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NewJersey Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 0.8% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 31,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1.0% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 23.1% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 0.8% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 33,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.