Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.09, Zacks reports. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The company had revenue of $164.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.71) EPS. Northwest Natural Gas’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northwest Natural Gas updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.750-2.950 EPS.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NWN traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.87. 78,351 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 264,950. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.17. Northwest Natural Gas has a 1 year low of $38.03 and a 1 year high of $47.79.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 77.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NWN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $472,905.00. Following the sale, the director owned 51,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,336,490. This represents a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,869 shares of company stock valued at $1,882,588. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 65.9% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 7.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 137,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,457,000 after purchasing an additional 10,094 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.3% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 66,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.