What is Huntington's Forecast for NWN FY2026 Earnings?

Key Points

• Huntington forecasts Northwest Natural Gas will earn $3.16 per share in FY2026, above the $3.10 consensus estimate, and maintains a Strong Buy rating.
• The company’s latest quarter beat expectations: EPS was a loss of $0.71 versus the forecast loss of $0.88, while revenue of $177.97 million exceeded estimates and rose 8% year over year.
• Northwest Natural raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, equivalent to $2.00 annually and a 3.9% yield. Analysts’ average rating is Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $55.43.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Huntington issued their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Northwest Natural Gas in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, November 6th. Huntington analyst M. Gaugler forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $3.16 for the year. Huntington currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Northwest Natural Gas' current full-year earnings is $3.10 per share. Huntington also issued estimates for Northwest Natural Gas' Q4 2026 earnings at $1.53 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.56 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at ($0.02) EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at ($0.94) EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.63 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $3.22 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $2.62 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.06 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at ($0.78) EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.39 EPS.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $177.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.40 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.73) earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on NWN. Truist Financial started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.43.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $51.89 on Wednesday. Northwest Natural Gas has a fifty-two week low of $45.69 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 0.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 743,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,571,000 after acquiring an additional 18,669 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,160,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter valued at approximately $16,287,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the third quarter valued at approximately $10,114,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 37.4% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 201,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,406,000 after buying an additional 54,852 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.71, for a total transaction of $73,065.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,340.89. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $221,400. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.4925. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Gas, now organized as NW Natural Holdings, is a utility company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas through its NW Natural subsidiary. The company serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. Founded in 1859 as the Portland Gas Light Company, the business has grown from a local gas provider into a regional utility. Its operations also include natural gas storage and, through subsidiaries, water and wastewater services.

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