Head to Head Analysis: Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) versus NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR)

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) and Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

NewJersey Resources has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suburban Propane Partners has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.0% of NewJersey Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Suburban Propane Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of NewJersey Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Suburban Propane Partners shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NewJersey Resources and Suburban Propane Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NewJersey Resources	$2.04 billion	2.88	$335.63 million	$3.37	17.26
Suburban Propane Partners	$1.39 billion	0.89	$106.57 million	$1.99	9.44

NewJersey Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Suburban Propane Partners. Suburban Propane Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NewJersey Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for NewJersey Resources and Suburban Propane Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NewJersey Resources	0	0	3	2	3.40
Suburban Propane Partners	0	0	1	2	3.67

NewJersey Resources currently has a consensus price target of $58.17, indicating a potential upside of 0.02%. Given NewJersey Resources’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NewJersey Resources is more favorable than Suburban Propane Partners.

Profitability

This table compares NewJersey Resources and Suburban Propane Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NewJersey Resources	15.67%	14.58%	4.72%
Suburban Propane Partners	9.57%	19.45%	5.39%

Dividends

NewJersey Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Suburban Propane Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. NewJersey Resources pays out 56.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Suburban Propane Partners pays out 65.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. NewJersey Resources has increased its dividend for 29 consecutive years.

Summary

NewJersey Resources beats Suburban Propane Partners on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NewJersey Resources

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. The Clean Energy Ventures segment invests in, owns, and operates clean energy projects, including commercial and residential solar installation situated in New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Michigan, and Indiana. The Energy Services segment maintains and operates natural gas transportation and storage capacity contracts, as well as provides physical wholesale energy, retail energy and energy management services in the United States and Canada. The Storage and Transportation segment invests in invests in energy-related ventures. It provides heating, ventilation, and cooling services; sales and installation of appliances; offers solar equipment installation, and plumbing repair and installation services; and holds commercial real estate properties. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Wall, New Jersey.

About Suburban Propane Partners

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, renewable propane, fuel oil, and refined fuels in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other. The Propane segment is involved in the retail distribution of propane for space heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying for use as a motor fuel in internal combustion engines to power over-the-road vehicles, forklifts, and stationary engines, as well as to fire furnaces as a cutting gas to the industrial customers; and for tobacco curing, crop drying, poultry brooding, and weed control in the agricultural markets. It also engages in the wholesale distribution of propane to industrial end users. Its Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels segment engages in the retail distribution of fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, and gasoline to residential and commercial customers for use in primarily as a source of heat in homes and buildings. The Natural Gas and Electricity segment markets natural gas and electricity to residential and commercial customers in the deregulated energy markets in New York and Pennsylvania. The All Other segment sells, installs, and services a range of home comfort equipment, including whole-house heating products, air cleaners, humidifiers, and space heaters. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers primarily in the east and west coast regions of the United States, as well as portions of the Midwest region of the United States and Alaska. Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. was founded in 1945 and is based in Whippany, New Jersey.