COMMON STOCK

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Common Stock [Abstract]

COMMON STOCK

COMMON STOCK:

The following shares were issued and outstanding:

	2016
Beginning Balance, January 1	70,965,622
New Issues During the Period:
Dividend Reinvestment Plan	229,522
Stock-Based Compensation Plan	43,023
Ending Balance, March 31	71,238,167

The par value ($1.25 per share) of stock issued was recorded in Common Stock and the net excess over par value of approximately $6.1 million was recorded in Premium on Common Stock.

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE (EPS) - Basic EPS is based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding.  The incremental shares required for inclusion in the denominator for the diluted EPS calculation were 288,502 and 220,762 for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. These shares relate to SJI's restricted stock as discussed in Note 2.

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN (DRP) - The Company offers a DRP which allows participating shareholders to purchase shares of SJI common stock by automatic reinvestment of dividends or optional purchases. Shares of common stock offered by the DRP have been issued directly by SJI from its authorized but unissued shares of common stock. The Company raised $5.6 million and $1.9 million of equity capital through the DRP during the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.