Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Issues Earnings Results

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. Northwest Natural’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.65) earnings per share. Northwest Natural updated its FY24 guidance to $2.20-2.40 EPS.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $40.63 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.59. Northwest Natural has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $42.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.