Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $3.66 Million Stock Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.08% of New Jersey Resources worth $3,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,564,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $469,881,000 after acquiring an additional 373,802 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 83,963.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 136,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,071,000 after buying an additional 136,020 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 876.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 114,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,667,000 after buying an additional 103,090 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,358.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,195,000 after buying an additional 91,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of New Jersey Resources stock traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $44.86. The company had a trading volume of 387,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,673. New Jersey Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $38.92 and a twelve month high of $51.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.60 and a 200-day moving average of $42.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.62.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NJR. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th.

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.