New Jersey Resources’ NJR strategic investment plans in infrastructure help it serve its expanding customer base more efficiently. Given its earnings growth opportunities and strong return on equity (ROE), NJR makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.

Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.

NJR’s Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has moved up 7.3% in the past 30 days to $3.10.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 sales is pinned at $1.84 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 2.5%.

NJR’s Return on Equity

ROE indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing the funds to generate higher returns. Currently, New Jersey Resources’ ROE is 13.54%, higher than the industry’s average of 8.83%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing the funds more constructively than its peers in the utility gas distribution industry.

NJR’s Solvency

The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter was 3.8. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.

NJR’s Dividend Growth

New Jersey Resources has been increasing shareholders' value by paying dividends. NJR has paid quarterly dividends continuously since its inception in 1952, and raised the dividend every year for the past 29 years. In September 2024, the company’s board of directors approved a 7.1% increase in quarterly dividend rate. The new quarterly dividend is 45 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 per share compared with the previous figure of $1.68. The company’s current dividend yield is 3.88%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.21%. 

NJR’s Systematic Investments & Customer Growth

New Jersey Resources consistently invests in upgrading and maintaining its existing infrastructure, with the goal of providing reliable services to its customers around the clock. The company expects capital expenditures to be in the range of $600-$700 million for fiscal 2025.

During fiscal 2024, the company added 8,079 new customers. It expects these new customers to contribute approximately $6.8 million of incremental utility gross margin on an annualized basis.

NJR’s Stock Price Performance

In the past six months, shares of the company have risen 8.8% compared with the sector’s 4.6% growth.

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Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same sector are Atmos Energy ATO, NiSource NI and IDACORP IDA, each holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

ATO’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.01%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 3.4% in the past four quarters.

NI’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.45%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NI’s 2024 EPS indicates an increase of 8.1% from the year-ago registered figure.  
IDA’s long-term earnings growth rate is 8.31%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IDA’s 2024 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 5.3%.

 

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