John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 1,550 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of New Jersey Resources worth $5,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NJR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,403,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,337,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,564,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $469,881,000 after buying an additional 373,802 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,779,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 83,963.0% in 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. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $856,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,548.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

New Jersey Resources stock traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.17. The company had a trading volume of 554,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,680. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $38.92 and a 12-month high of $47.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.13 and its 200-day moving average is $42.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.08. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 14.46%. The business had revenue of $657.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.64 million. Equities research analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.40%.

New Jersey Resources 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.