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

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, payable on August 14 to shareholders of record on July 31. The dividend implies an annualized yield of about 4.0%.
• The company has a strong dividend track record, with 70 consecutive years of annual increases, and its payout ratio of 65.2% suggests the dividend is covered by earnings.
• In its latest earnings report, Northwest Natural Gas missed analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue, reporting $2.33 EPS versus estimates of $2.40 and revenue of $490.4 million versus expectations of $538.6 million.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.4925 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, August 14th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st.

Northwest Natural Gas has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 70 consecutive years. Northwest Natural Gas has a payout ratio of 65.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Northwest Natural Gas to earn $3.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.97 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.2%.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $49.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12 month low of $39.29 and a 12 month high of $55.99. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.76 and its 200-day moving average is $50.09.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The business had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About Northwest Natural Gas

Northwest Natural Gas NYSE: NWN, commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.

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