Trexquant Investment LP Buys 96,103 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 76.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,103 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.22% of New Jersey Resources worth $10,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.60.

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $49.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $58,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,450. This trade represents a 4.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.