Spirit of America Management Corp NY Buys 1,500 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 125.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the second quarter worth $620,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 52.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NJR stock opened at $46.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a one year low of $40.20 and a one year high of $51.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.51 and its 200 day moving average is $46.88.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

New Jersey Resources 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.