Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Announces Earnings Results

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 6.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.65) earnings per share. Northwest Natural updated its FY24 guidance to $2.20-2.40 EPS.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NWN traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.06. 13,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,143. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.93 and its 200 day moving average is $38.55. Northwest Natural has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on NWN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research 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.