Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,486 shares during the quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of New Jersey Resources worth $5,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NJR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,564,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $469,881,000 after buying an additional 373,802 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,738,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 13.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 56.3% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 22.0% in the third quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 163,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,650,000 after purchasing an additional 29,492 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR traded up $0.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.91. 407,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,617. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $38.92 and a 1-year high of $55.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.15). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 12th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NJR. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th.

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.