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

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.65) earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s 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 Down 0.8 %

NWN stock opened at $41.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $42.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.57.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is 92.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 objective for the stock 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.