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

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders 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 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 payout ratio of 58.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Price Performance

New Jersey Resources stock opened at $43.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.64. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $38.92 and a 1 year high of $53.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. New Jersey Resources’s revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of 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 shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 71.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 264.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.