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

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 annualized dividend 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 payment by an average of 7.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 28 years. New Jersey Resources has a payout ratio of 58.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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

NYSE NJR opened at $43.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.46. The company 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 1 year low of $38.92 and a 1 year high of $53.90.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on NJR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $264,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.