Need Some Safety? Look At South Jersey Industries As A Solid Long-Term Utility Dividend Investment

South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) has proven to be a solid long-term dividend investment over time. With a 3.4% yield and a history of dividend increases over time, the stock can act as a good dividend reinvestment plan that allows investors to sleep at night. SJI is currently undervalued in relation to the gas utility industry and multiple catalysts are underway to stimulate future growth. Valuation SJI currently trades at about 15.7x next year's expected earnings per share of $3.49. This valuation is 10% lower than the gas utilities industry's forward PE of 17.5. SJI is about 20% undervalued in terms of its balance sheet as it trades at about 2X its book value per share as compared to the industry's price to book ratio of 2.5. I think that the reason for the undervaluation is because the average gas utility is expected to grow earnings at about 7.9% annually... Read more