New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NJR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 1.8 %

NJR opened at $51.61 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources has a fifty-two week low of $39.44 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.60.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 60,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 6,039 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the first quarter worth about $312,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 480,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,623,000 after acquiring an additional 190,028 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 458,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,596,000 after acquiring an additional 7,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 119.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.