Barclays PLC Acquires 110,723 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 189,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110,723 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.19% of New Jersey Resources worth $8,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 140.0% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $47.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.85 and a 200-day moving average of $46.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.63.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.97 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Jersey Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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.