Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

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

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NYSE NWN traded down $0.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.63. 292,041 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,220. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36 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 has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.56.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Northwest Natural

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.