Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 19,216 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 94.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,216 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 68.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 2,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NJR. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NJR opened at $43.34 on Friday. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $38.92 and a 12-month high of $52.93. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.29 and its 200 day moving average is $42.55.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $467.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company’s revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.85%.

About New Jersey Resources

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.