Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided EPS guidance of ($0.16)-($0.08) for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of ($0.03). Northwest Natural also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.200-2.400 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Northwest Natural in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a neutral rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.40.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 0.2 %

NWN traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.46. 327,471 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,082. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.51. Northwest Natural has a 1-year low of $34.95 and a 1-year high of $47.29.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $433.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.81 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 7.52%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.00%.

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.