Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $271,000 Investment in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 29.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,894 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 5.6% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 128,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS increased its position in New Jersey Resources by 20.5% in the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 10,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,889,000 after purchasing an additional 40,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NJR opened at $47.53 on Wednesday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.63. 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’s fifty day moving average is $47.85 and its 200-day moving average is $46.01.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 16.13%. 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 company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 3.79%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 61.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NJR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

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.