New Jersey Resources Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 (NYSE:NJR)

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th.

New Jersey Resources has increased its dividend by an average of 7.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 28 years. New Jersey Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 58.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect New Jersey Resources to earn $2.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.3%.

New Jersey Resources Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NJR opened at $43.36 on Friday. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $38.92 and a 52 week high of $53.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.12 and a 200-day moving average of $42.46.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.15). New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that New Jersey Resources will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NJR. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NJR. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in New Jersey Resources by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.