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

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th.

New Jersey Resources has increased its dividend by an average of 7.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 28 consecutive 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 %

NJR opened at $43.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.64. New Jersey Resources has a 52 week low of $38.92 and a 52 week high of $53.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.46.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NJR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 71.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 264.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.