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

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) declared 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 is Wednesday, June 12th.

New Jersey Resources has raised its dividend 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 dividend 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 Stock Performance

NJR opened at $43.36 on Friday. The business 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 capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE 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 current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $467.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.66 million. New Jersey Resources had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that New Jersey Resources will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NJR. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th.

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.