Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas reported adjusted EPS of $0.01, beating analyst expectations of a $0.08 loss by $0.09. Revenue was $243.55 million, below the $271.87 million consensus estimate, though it increased 3.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equivalent to $1.97 annually and a 4.0% yield, with a 67.24% payout ratio.
• Analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $55.25 price target, compared with shares trading near $49.13. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the stock.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $271.87 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.13. 77,109 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,452. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.87 and a 200-day moving average of $50.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12 month low of $39.29 and a 12 month high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 67.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $76,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,674,615.62. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $399,000. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 4,169.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 8,339 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 65.9% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $354,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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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