Northwest Natural Holding Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.49 (NYSE:NWN)

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.488 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

Northwest Natural has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 69 years. Northwest Natural has a dividend payout ratio of 67.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Northwest Natural to earn $2.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.95 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.2%.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 0.9 %

NWN stock opened at $38.32 on Friday. Northwest Natural has a one year low of $34.95 and a one year high of $48.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average of $37.58.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $355.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Northwest Natural will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.20.

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.