Reasons to Include New Jersey Resources Stock in Your Portfolio Now

New Jersey Resources' NJR infrastructure investments continue to drive benefits for the company, allowing it to serve its growing customer base with greater efficiency. Given its strong growth, NJR makes for a solid investment option in the Zacks Utility Gas Distribution industry.

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

NJR’s Growth Outlook & Surprise History

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 1.9% to $3.28 in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 sales is pegged at $1.98 billion, implying a year-over-year increase of 10%.

NJR surpassed expectations in the last four reported quarters and delivered an average earnings surprise of 54.96%.

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 17.08%, higher than the industry’s average of 9.08%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing the funds more constructively than its peers in the utility gas distribution industry.

NJR’s Strategic Spending & Service Reach

New Jersey Resources regularly invests in enhancing and maintaining its infrastructure, aiming to deliver reliable services to its customers. The company aims capital expenditures to be in the range of $650-$770 million and $655-$835 million in fiscal 2025 and 2026, respectively.

As of June 30, 2025, New Jersey Natural Gas supplied services to about 588,300 customers across Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties in New Jersey, up from roughly 583,000 customers as of Sept. 30, 2024.

NJR’s Return to Shareholders

New Jersey Resources has been increasing shareholder value via regular dividend payments. The company has paid quarterly dividends continuously since its inception in 1952. It has also raised the dividend every year for the past 30 years.

On Sept. 10, 2025, the company’s board of directors authorized a quarterly dividend increase to 47.5 cents per share from 45 cents, marking a 5.6% hike and bringing the annualized dividend to $1.90. The company’s current dividend yield stands at 4.03%, significantly higher than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 1.12%.

Overview of NJR’s Debt Structure

Currently, NJR’s total debt to capital is 58.26%, better than the sector’s average of 59.64%.

The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the fiscal third quarter of 2025 was 5. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.

NJR Stock Price Performance

In the past month, NJR shares have risen 2.1% compared with the sector’s growth of 0.1%.

Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same sector are ONE Gas, Inc. OGS, Northwest Natural Holding Company NWN and NiSource Inc. NI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 

OGS’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $4.34, which calls for a year-over-year improvement of 11%.

NWN delivered an average earnings surprise of 33.20% in the past four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS stands at $2.92, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 25.3%.

NI’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 EPS is pegged at $1.88, which implies year-over-year growth of 7.4%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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