New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) Receives $49.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.75.

Several research firms have issued reports on NJR. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $50.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.41 and its 200-day moving average is $45.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.63. New Jersey Resources has a 12-month low of $39.44 and a 12-month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $395.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $406.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.64%.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the third quarter worth $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About New Jersey Resources

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.