Analyzing New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) and Italgas (OTCMKTS:ITGGF)

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) and Italgas (OTCMKTS:ITGGF) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for New Jersey Resources and Italgas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
New Jersey Resources	0	3	0	0	2.00
Italgas	1	0	0	0	1.00

New Jersey Resources currently has a consensus target price of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.97%. Given New Jersey Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe New Jersey Resources is more favorable than Italgas.

Profitability

This table compares New Jersey Resources and Italgas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
New Jersey Resources	13.96%	11.13%	3.46%
Italgas	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares New Jersey Resources and Italgas’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
New Jersey Resources	$1.96 billion	2.19	$264.72 million	$2.44	17.91
Italgas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

New Jersey Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Italgas.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.0% of New Jersey Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of New Jersey Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

New Jersey Resources beats Italgas on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About New Jersey 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 Italgas

Italgas S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of natural gas in Italy. It is involved in the transportation of gas to households, enterprises, etc. The company operated a distribution network of 81,309 kilometers. It also engages in metering activities; and distributes and sells water. Italgas S.p.A. was founded in 1837 and is based in Milan, Italy.