New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) had its price objective upped by Guggenheim from $46.00 to $49.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NJR. Mizuho lifted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded New Jersey Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $51.58 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.52. New Jersey Resources has a twelve month low of $39.44 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. 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 3.49%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

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