NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.48 and traded as high as $55.09. NewJersey Resources shares last traded at $55.0610, with a volume of 892,492 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NJR. New Street Research set a $68.00 target price on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Monday, September 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $61.00 price objective on NewJersey Resources in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on NewJersey Resources from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Huntington began coverage on NewJersey Resources in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NewJersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

NewJersey Resources Stock Up 2.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.05. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The company had revenue of $349.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. NewJersey Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4750. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. NewJersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 55.25%.

Insider Activity

In other NewJersey Resources news, COO Patrick Migliaccio sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.63, for a total value of $166,890.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,791,397.26. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NJR. M&G PLC purchased a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources in the third quarter worth $25,487,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of NewJersey Resources by 0.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 104,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 8,966.7% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 1,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 48.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 97.8% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,946 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About NewJersey Resources

New Jersey Resources Corporation (NYSE: NJR) is an energy services holding company headquartered in New Jersey. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides natural gas distribution, energy management, storage and transportation, and clean energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

New Jersey Natural Gas, the company’s principal regulated utility, distributes natural gas to customers in central and northern New Jersey. Its energy services operations manage natural gas supplies and provide related products and services, while its storage and transportation activities support the movement and availability of natural gas through regional infrastructure.

The company also invests in renewable energy and other lower-carbon initiatives, including solar generation and clean energy solutions.