New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Separately, Argus upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE:NJR traded down $1.80 on Monday, hitting $45.00. 682,590 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 512,279. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.56. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $38.92 and a 52 week high of $47.37. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.60.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $657.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.64 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.16%. As a group, analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 26,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,198,596.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,601,847.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,788,725. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,207,996. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 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.