Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.20-2.40 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NWN. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $41.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.55. Northwest Natural has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $42.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.65) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Northwest Natural will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.91%.

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.