Huntington National Bank Purchases 675 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Huntington National Bank increased its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,736,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.60.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NJR stock opened at $47.86 on Monday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $51.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.79 and a 200-day moving average of $47.44. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.58.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 3.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

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.