Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

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

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NWN traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.46. The company had a trading volume of 327,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,082. Northwest Natural has a 52-week low of $34.95 and a 52-week high of $47.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Northwest Natural in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. They set a neutral rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $41.40.

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.