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

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

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NWN traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.11. The company had a trading volume of 19,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,170. Northwest Natural has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $42.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.55.

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 given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is currently 89.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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