New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Mizuho dropped their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NJR traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $44.33. 455,838 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.72 and its 200-day moving average is $42.65. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $38.92 and a 52 week high of $50.72.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $467.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 41.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 48,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 14,150 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 917,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,357,000 after purchasing an additional 8,843 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 24,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 193,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,282,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.