Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.950-3.150 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 3.050. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $52.74 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $52.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.47. Northwest Natural Gas has a fifty-two week low of $39.10 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $394.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $419.36 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 8.79%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Freedom Capital raised Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 149 shares in the company, valued at $7,832.93. This represents a 91.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock worth $89,579. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 523.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

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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