New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Raymond James

Investment analysts at Raymond James started coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $49.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Raymond James’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued 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 $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, New Street Research set a $51.00 price target on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.29.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $44.84 on Friday. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $41.68 and a 1 year high of $51.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.22 and a 200-day moving average of $47.52.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $913.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $732.00 million. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 1,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,132,450. The trade was a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 42.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% 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.