Corebridge Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 160,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,697 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in New Jersey Resources were worth $7,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 9,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE NJR opened at $49.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.38. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is 54.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NJR. Guggenheim lifted their target price on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Jersey Resources news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $113,968.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.