Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Issues FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.750-2.950 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.910. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on NWN shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.93. The stock had a trading volume of 87,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,142. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68. Northwest Natural Gas has a 1-year low of $38.03 and a 1-year high of $47.79.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.86) by $0.13. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%.During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.71) earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 77.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total value of $347,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,060,736.58. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 42,869 shares of company stock valued at $1,882,588 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 137,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,457,000 after purchasing an additional 10,094 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 66,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,640,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 523.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas 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.