Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.49

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, reflecting a 0.5% increase from the previous dividend and an annual yield of 4.5%.
• The company reported a payout ratio of 64.9%, indicating that its dividend is well-covered by earnings, with expected earnings per share of $2.91 for the next year.
• Analysts have varying ratings for the stock, with one "Buy" rating and three "Hold" ratings, and a consensus price target set at $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 9th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of 0.4925 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, November 14th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. This is a 0.5% increase from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49.

Northwest Natural Gas has a payout ratio of 64.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Northwest Natural Gas to earn $2.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.4%.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:NWN traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.74. 256,188 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 228,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural Gas has a 52-week low of $38.03 and a 52-week high of $45.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.58.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas 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.

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