Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) is an investor-owned public utility specializing in the distribution and transportation of natural gas. Through an extensive pipeline network and storage facilities, the company provides reliable energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its core operations encompass wholesale procurement, system operations, safety management and customer service, ensuring uninterrupted energy delivery across its service territory.

Founded in 1859 as the Portland Gas Light Company, Northwest Natural Gas has evolved alongside the Pacific Northwest’s economic growth. Over the decades, the company has modernized its infrastructure, transitioning from manufactured gas to predominantly pipeline-delivered natural gas. Northwest Natural Gas has also embraced emerging technologies, launching renewable natural gas initiatives that capture and distribute biogas from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities, reflecting its commitment to cleaner energy alternatives.

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Northwest Natural Gas serves more than 760,000 customers across Oregon and Southwest Washington, including major metropolitan areas such as Portland, Salem, Eugene and Clark County. The company maintains long-term franchise agreements with municipalities and works closely with state regulators to support infrastructure upgrades, system resilience and emergency response planning, ensuring high standards of safety and reliability.

Governed by a board of directors and led by a seasoned executive team, Northwest Natural Gas emphasizes operational excellence, environmental stewardship and community engagement. Through focused capital investment and strategic planning, the company seeks to balance customer affordability with infrastructure modernization, positioning itself for sustainable growth in the evolving energy landscape.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $40.65 to $41.34
• 50-Day Range: $39.61 to $44.01
• 52-Week Range: $35.11 to $44.38
• Volume: 140,393 shs
• Average Volume: 256,743 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.65 billion
• P/E Ratio: 16.28
• Dividend Yield: 4.78%
• Price Target: $46.33
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Northwest Natural Gas scored higher than 88% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 19th out of 97 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Northwest Natural Gas has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.67, and is based on 2 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Northwest Natural Gas has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 24.89%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Northwest Natural Gas are expected to grow by 24.89% in the coming year, from $2.33 to $2.91 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Northwest Natural Gas is 16.28, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 25.65.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Northwest Natural Gas is 16.28, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 20.45.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Northwest Natural Gas has a P/B Ratio of 1.19. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.13% of the float of Northwest Natural Gas has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Northwest Natural Gas has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Northwest Natural Gas has recently decreased by 4.17%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Northwest Natural Gas is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 4.75%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Northwest Natural Gas has been increasing its dividend for 70 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Northwest Natural Gas is 77.78%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Northwest Natural Gas will have a dividend payout ratio of 67.35% next year. This indicates that Northwest Natural Gas will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.13% of the float of Northwest Natural Gas has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Northwest Natural Gas has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Northwest Natural Gas has recently decreased by 4.17%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.01

News Sentiment

Northwest Natural Gas has a news sentiment score of 1.01. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.67 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for Northwest Natural Gas this week, compared to 5 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 8 people have searched for NWN on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -27% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 1 people have added Northwest Natural Gas to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Northwest Natural Gas insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $931,255.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.93% of the stock of Northwest Natural Gas is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

75.13% of the stock of Northwest Natural Gas is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

NWN Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have NWN shares performed this year?

Northwest Natural Gas' stock was trading at $39.56 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, NWN stock has increased by 3.7% and is now trading at $41.0150.

How were Northwest Natural Gas' earnings last quarter?

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May, 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. The firm's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

How do I buy shares of Northwest Natural Gas?

Shares of NWN stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Northwest Natural Gas own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Northwest Natural Gas investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 5/15 Dividend: 4/30/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 5/15 Dividend: 4/30/2025
• Last Earnings: 5/06/2025
• Dividend Payable: 5/15/2025
• Today: 7/05/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/01/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: UTIL - GAS DISTR
• Sub-Industry: Gas Utilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:NWN
• CIK: 73020
• Web: www.nwnatural.com
• Phone: (503) 226-4211
• Fax: 503-273-4822
• Employees: 1,452
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $46.33
• High Stock Price Target: $49.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $43.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +13.0%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.67
• Research Coverage: 3 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.52
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 16.28
• Forward P/E Ratio: 17.60
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $78.87 million
• Net Margins: 8.48%
• Pretax Margin: 11.88%
• Return on Equity: 8.56%
• Return on Assets: 2.29%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.51
• Current Ratio: 1.05
• Quick Ratio: 0.87

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.15 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.43
• Cash Flow: $6.16 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.66
• Book Value: $34.52 per share
• Price / Book: 1.19

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 40,310,000
• Free Float: 39,935,000
• Market Cap: $1.65 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.53