NJR vs SR: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
NJR (New Jersey Resources) and SR (Spire Inc.) share investment themes but are different businesses. The right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme.
NJR vs SR: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | NJR | SR | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $5.27B | $4.85B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 15.17 | 14.95 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 14.46 | 24.13 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.50 | 0.54 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 50% of range | 35% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.00 | 1.35 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how NJR and SR affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. NJR and SR share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined NJR and SR exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does New Jersey Resources (NJR) do?
New Jersey Resources is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Wall, New Jersey. Its core is New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), a regulated utility that distributes gas to roughly 5.6 million people across Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties. Around it sit three non-utility segments: Clean Energy Ventures (solar generation), Energy Services (a wholesale natural gas trading and asset-optimization business active across North America), and Storage and Transportation (the Adelphia Gateway pipeline, the Leaf River salt-dome storage facility, and a 50% stake in Steckman Ridge). Company guidance points to the regulated utility contributing roughly 62 to 67 percent of net financial earnings, with the remainder split among Energy Services, Clean Energy Ventures and Storage and Transportation.
What does Spire Inc. (SR) do?
Spire Inc. is a public utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis with roots going back to the 1850s. Its regulated distribution utilities (Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama, Spire Gulf, Spire Mississippi and Spire Tennessee) buy natural gas, move it through their own distribution and transmission pipelines, and sell it to residential, commercial and industrial customers under rates set by state commissions. A small Midstream segment holds pipeline and storage assets that serve the utilities. The company closed a ~$2.48 billion purchase of Duke Energy's Piedmont Tennessee local distribution business on March 31, 2026, adding more than 200,000 customers around Nashville and nearly 3,800 miles of pipeline, and it agreed in April 2026 to sell its smaller Mississippi utility to Delta Utilities for ~$75 million. Spire's fiscal year ends September 30, which matters when reading any trailing figure.
NJR vs SR: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- NJR drivers: Regulated utility rate-base growth; Energy Services trading upside.
- SR drivers: Rate base growth is the earnings engine; Tennessee is the newest and fastest-growing piece.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: As a regulated utility, NJR depends on favorable rate-case outcomes from New Jersey regulators, and unfavorable rulings can compress returns on its heavy capital spending. For SR, regulatory outcomes drive nearly everything here, and as of October 2026 the calendar is crowded: Alabama and Gulf RSE renewal hearings were held in August 2026 with requested returns on equity of ~10.5% to 10.75%, and Spire expects to make its first Missouri future test year rate case filing around November 2026, so an unfavorable order in either place would flow straight to earnings.
NJR or SR: which should you pick?
NJR vs SR: the full fundamentals
NJR. NJR trades at about 14.4 times trailing earnings and about 15 times forward estimates, roughly in line with regulated gas utility peers; the market is pricing a stable regulated core plus a variable trading component. Forward earnings are expected to be slightly lower than fiscal 2026 because the strong Energy Services year is not assumed to repeat, which is why the forward multiple sits above the trailing one. The roughly 3.9 percent dividend yield, after a 5.3 percent increase in September, and steady dividend growth are central to the total-return story; seven analysts carry a mean target near $59.71.
SR. At roughly $81.60 a share on October 16, 2026, SR trades near ~20 times the midpoint of fiscal 2026 adjusted guidance, about 24 times trailing GAAP earnings, and closer to ~15 times the fiscal 2027 midpoint. Those multiples describe different companies, because fiscal 2027 carries a first full year of Tennessee earnings plus the Missouri and Alabama rates that took effect during fiscal 2026, so anchoring on the trailing number overstates how expensive the shares look. Pure-play gas distributors have generally traded in the high teens to low twenties on forward earnings, which puts Spire inside its peer band, and the analyst average target sits near $91.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): NJR shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.2B (fiscal Q3 2026 revenue +16.8% YoY), net income (ttm) ~$366M (~16% profit margin), eps (ttm) ~$3.61, fy2026 nfeps guidance ~$3.52 to $3.62 (narrowed, midpoint raised, August 2026); SR shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.67B, with ~$2.14B in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, adjusted eps guidance ~$3.90 to $4.10 for FY2026, ~$5.40 to $5.60 for FY2027, p/e trailing / forward ~24x / ~15x, market cap ~$4.8B at a share price near ~$81.60.
The bottom line: NJR vs SR
NJR and SR are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined NJR and SR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how NJR or SR fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in New Jersey Resources with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how NJR fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between NJR and SR?
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New Jersey Resources is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Wall, New Jersey. Spire Inc. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is NJR or SR the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, NJR or SR?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), NJR trades at 15.17x and SR at 14.95x, so SR is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both NJR and SR?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of NJR vs SR?
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NJR: As a regulated utility, NJR depends on favorable rate-case outcomes from New Jersey regulators, and unfavorable rulings can compress returns on its heavy capital spending. Rising interest rates raise financing costs for a capital-intensive balance sheet and can make utility dividend yields less attractive relative to bonds. The Energy Services segment introduces earnings volatility tied to natural gas price swings, so strong years may not repeat and weak commodity environments can pressure results. Weather remains a swing factor for both utility demand and trading margins, as fiscal 2026 illustrated. Longer term, the energy transition and decarbonization policy could weigh on natural gas demand and asset values, and large ongoing capital needs may require continued debt and equity issuance: free cash flow ran about -$259 million over the trailing twelve months and debt stands near $3.9 billion. Analyst consensus also expects fiscal 2027 earnings per share to dip about 3.6% to roughly $3.44 as Energy Services normalizes, and the pending New Jersey base-rate case adds regulatory uncertainty. SR: Regulatory outcomes drive nearly everything here, and as of October 2026 the calendar is crowded: Alabama and Gulf RSE renewal hearings were held in August 2026 with requested returns on equity of ~10.5% to 10.75%, and Spire expects to make its first Missouri future test year rate case filing around November 2026, so an unfavorable order in either place would flow straight to earnings. Financing is the second pressure point, since the ~$2.48 billion Tennessee purchase was funded with cash and a stack of fiscal 2026 debt issuance including ~$200 million of Missouri bonds, ~$200 million of subordinated notes and ~$400 million of senior notes, leaving the company more exposed to interest rates and to rating agency views than it was two years ago. Seasonality can mislead badly: Spire reported a GAAP loss of ~$42.6 million, or ~$(0.72) per diluted share, in the June 2026 quarter, which is normal for a gas distributor in summer but looks alarming out of context. Integrating a newly acquired utility across a fourth state carries execution and service quality risk, and any early stumble tends to be noticed by the commission that sets the rates. Longer term, electrification policy, building codes that discourage new gas hookups, and pipeline safety mandates all bear on how durable a gas-only distribution rate base is over a ten-year capital plan. Balance sheet stretch is visible in the trailing figures: total debt is about $7.3 billion against roughly $21 million of cash, and trailing free cash flow is about negative $320 million because capital spending exceeds operating cash flow, so the capital plan depends on continued access to debt and equity markets.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell NJR or SR; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.