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

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

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 65,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,418. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.63. Northwest Natural Gas has a 52 week low of $39.75 and a 52 week high of $55.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. 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 9.75% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $76,770.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,674,615.62. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,083,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $82,749,000 after purchasing an additional 131,019 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 989,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,261,000 after buying an additional 16,297 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 860,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,512 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 724,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 587,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,437,000 after purchasing an additional 250,025 shares in the last quarter. 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.