Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Why South Jersey Industries Is Poised to Outperform

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, natural gas utility South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at South Jersey and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

South Jersey facts

Headquarters (founded)

Folsom, N.J. (1910)

Market Cap

$1.7 billion

Industry

Gas utilities

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$707.3 million

Management

Chairman/CEO Edward Graham

CFO David Kindlick

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

13.9%

Cash/Debt

$4.2 million / $943.2 million

Dividend Yield

3.2%

Competitors

Consolidated Edison

New Jersey Resources

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 88% of the 67 members who have rated South Jersey believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just yesterday, one of those Fools, All-Star TeenStockPicker, succinctly summed up the bull case for our community:

South Jersey Industries acquires, markets, and distributes natural gas and electricity. Analysts see earnings growing a hearty 9% annually over the next three years, and South Jersey's dividend looks solid as ever. Their recent proposition to implement an Accelerated Infrastructure Replacement Program has recently been approved, and with natural gas costs continuing to plummet this cost will be easily offset. South Jersey has other energy-related projects such as thermal facilities and solar projects, but natural gas is their main endeavor.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong five-star rating, South Jersey may not be your top choice.

We've found another stock we are incredibly excited about -- excited enough to dub it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won't be here forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

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