MQS Management LLC Invests $562,000 in NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 112.1% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

NewJersey Resources Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $46.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.64. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.80 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.61.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $912.32 million for the quarter. NewJersey Resources had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 19.64%. Equities research analysts expect that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This is an increase from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.43.

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.