New Jersey Resources raises dividend, to lift yield to more than double the S&P 500

New Jersey Resources Corp. NJR, +1.61% said Wednesday that it raised its quarterly dividend by 7.6%, to 39.00 cents a share from 36.25 cents a share. The natural gas storage and transportation company’s new dividend will be payable Oct. 3 to shareholders of record on Sept. 26. Based on current stock prices — the stock rallied 1.7% in afternoon trading — the new annual dividend rate would lift the dividend yield to 3.48% from 3.24%. That compares with the yield on the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF XLE, +2.17% of 3.39% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 SPX, -0.22% of 1.67%.