New Jersey Resources Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 (NYSE:NJR)

New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th.

New Jersey Resources has increased its dividend by an average of 7.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 29 years. New Jersey Resources has a payout ratio of 57.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect New Jersey Resources to earn $3.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.7%.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NJR stock opened at $47.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. New Jersey Resources has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.57.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that New Jersey Resources will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In other New Jersey Resources news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,704. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, New Jersey Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.