A Most Modest Fortune

It has come to my attention—a matter of some amusement, I assure you—that the estimable Bragg Financial Advisors has seen fit to bestow a portion of its wealth upon New Jersey Resources. A trifling sum, perhaps—some $9.50 million, to be precise—but sufficient to warrant a raised eyebrow, and a sigh directed toward the boundless vanity of those who believe they can predict the future of regulated gas distribution.

Act I: The Acquisition

The transaction, revealed in a document most prosaic (an SEC filing, naturally), details the purchase of 205,627 shares. One imagines the principals at Bragg huddled around a table, poring over charts and muttering incantations to the gods of compound interest. The value of this holding, we are told, has swelled by $8.39 million, a testament not to any particular brilliance on their part, but to the simple fact that numbers, when left unattended, have a habit of increasing.

Act II: A Pittance in the Grand Scheme

This New Jersey Resources now constitutes a mere 1.12% of Bragg’s considerable hoard. A rounding error, one might say, in a portfolio dominated by the usual suspects—Apple, Microsoft, Google. These are the deities truly worshipped in the modern temple of finance. One wonders if the analysts at Bragg have considered the sheer poetry of investing in a company that delivers natural gas. Such pedestrian pursuits, so lacking in glamour!

The Pantheon of Holdings

NASDAQ: AAPL: $81.81 million (2.66% of AUM)
NASDAQ: MSFT: $80.23 million (2.61% of AUM)
NASDAQ: GOOGL: $73.00 million (2.38% of AUM)
NYSEMKT: VBR: $62.54 million (2.04% of AUM)
NYSE: RLI: $49.95 million (1.63% of AUM)

Observe, if you will, the steadfast devotion to the titans of technology. Such predictability! Such a lack of imagination!

Act III: A Modest Prosperity

As of late February, shares of New Jersey Resources were trading at $53.74, having enjoyed a rather immoderate increase of 22.1% over the past year. They have, it seems, outperformed the S&P 500 by a paltry 9.15 percentage points. A triumph, no doubt, for the shareholders, though one suspects the executives will claim most of the credit.

A Company’s Vital Statistics

Metric	Value
Revenue (TTM)	$2.2 billion
Net income (TTM)	$326.8 million
Dividend yield	3.4%
Price (as of market close February 12, 2026)	$53.74

The company itself, we are informed, provides regulated natural gas, dabbles in solar projects, and engages in other equally thrilling pursuits. A diversified model, they call it. I call it hedging one’s bets against the inevitable decline of civilization.

The Grand Illusion

New Jersey Resources boasts a net income of $122.5 million and anticipates earnings of $3.28 to $3.43 per share. They are, naturally, projecting continued growth, promising investors a 7% to 9% increase. Such optimism! Such a willful disregard for the laws of thermodynamics! They’ve invested $163.6 million this quarter, and plan to spend another $4.8 to $5.2 billion through 2030. It is a grand spectacle, this relentless pursuit of profit. A comedy, perhaps, played out on a global stage.

At 1.1% of Bragg’s assets, this investment is hardly a declaration of faith. It is a calculated maneuver, a minor adjustment to a vast portfolio. But it is enough to remind us that even in the most sophisticated of financial circles, the pursuit of wealth remains a most peculiar and ultimately, rather absurd, endeavor.

2026-02-15 00:56