New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.42 Per Share

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 16th, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 0.42 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 12th. This is a boost from New Jersey Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

New Jersey Resources has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.5% 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 60.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect New Jersey Resources to earn $2.82 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 59.6%.

New Jersey Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $43.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.92 and its 200-day moving average is $44.88. New Jersey Resources has a 52-week low of $38.92 and a 52-week high of $55.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of New Jersey Resources from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th.

Institutional Trading of New Jersey Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,757,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $493,331,000 after buying an additional 111,403 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in New Jersey Resources by 4.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,661,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,694,000 after buying an additional 456,306 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 22.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,203,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,897,000 after purchasing an additional 589,747 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4.5% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,854,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,668,000 after purchasing an additional 79,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 37.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,133,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 306,406 shares in the last quarter. 73.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, provides regulated gas distribution, and retail and wholesale energy services. 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 569,300 residential and commercial customers throughout 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.