Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) released its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $211.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN traded down $0.83 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.09. 354,850 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 297,978. Northwest Natural has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $41.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.21.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.488 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NWN shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Northwest Natural from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

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.