Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.19 EPS

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19, Zacks reports. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $464.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Northwest Natural updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.750-2.950 EPS.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NWN traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.83. 318,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 245,934. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.25. Northwest Natural has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,827.30. This trade represents a 89.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total value of $310,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,866,657.72. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,192 shares of company stock valued at $1,054,793. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

About Northwest Natural

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.