Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The firm had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.65) EPS. 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 Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock traded down $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $41.29. 237,658 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,162. 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 fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.49 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural's payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NWN shares. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating 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.