Ethic Inc. Sells 22,791 Shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation $NJR

Ethic Inc. lessened its position in shares of NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) by 57.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,791 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in NewJersey Resources were worth $745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in NewJersey Resources by 153.0% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake 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 valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of NewJersey Resources by 1,715.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded NewJersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.43.

NewJersey Resources Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $45.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.76. NewJersey Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.80 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.64.

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 business had revenue of $912.32 million during the quarter. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Equities analysts forecast that NewJersey Resources Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from NewJersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. NewJersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

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.