The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NewJersey Resources Corporation’s (NYSE:NJR) fiscal 2019 earnings was unchanged at $2 per share in the past 90 days. However, estimates for fiscal 2020 have been revised up 1.8% to $2.20 during the said period.
Let’s focus on the factors that make the stock an appropriate investment option at the moment.
Zacks Rank & VGM Score
NewJersey Resources currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The stock has an impressive VGM Score of B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum with the score being a weighted combination of all three factors. Back tested results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a bullish Zacks Rank are the best investment options.
Earnings Surprise History & Long-Term Growth
The company’s average four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 5.52%.
The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is pegged at 7%.
Price Movement & Dividend Yield
In the past 12 months, NewJersey Resources’ shares have gained 13.8% compared with the industry’s rise of 7.9%.
Currently, the company has a dividend yield of 2.31% compared with the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.93%.
Debt-to-Capital & Current Ratio
The debt-to-capital ratio is a good indicator of the financial position of a company. The indicator shows how much debt is used to conduct the business. Currently, the company’s debt-to-capital ratio is pegged at 42.92%, which is lower than the industry’s 49.04% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 43.11%.
NewJersey Resources’ current ratio is pegged at 1.04 as of Mar 31, 2019. The current ratio of more than 1 ensures the company's ability to pay short-term obligations or those due within a year.
Capital Investment Plan
The company plans to invest approximately $2 billion over fiscal 2019 to 2021. It is making investments in natural gas and midstream infrastructures to provide safe and reliable service. Moreover,NewJersey Resources has made significant capital expenditures toward the Clean Energy Ventures segment.
Other Key Picks
Some other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are ONEOK, Inc (NYSE:OKE) , ONE Gas, Inc (NYSE:OGS) and Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) , each holding a Zacks Rank of 2.
ONEOK pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 3.17% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 11.30%.
ONE Gas pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 8.29% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 5.90%.
Earnings Estimates for 2019 for Northwest Natural Gas moved up 0.8% to $2.37 per share in the past 60 days. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 4.50%
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NewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR): Free Stock Analysis Report
ONEOK, Inc. (OKE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Northwest Natural Gas Company (NWN): Free Stock Analysis Report
ONE Gas, Inc. (OGS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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