Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) and Its Peers Head to Head Analysis

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) is one of 45 public companies in the “Gas Utilities” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Northwest Natural Gas to related businesses based on the strength of its risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Northwest Natural Gas and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northwest Natural Gas	$1.31 billion	$113.32 million	17.14
Northwest Natural Gas Competitors	$3.06 billion	$338.49 million	30.52

Northwest Natural Gas’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Northwest Natural Gas. Northwest Natural Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Northwest Natural Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.8% of shares of all “Gas Utilities” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Northwest Natural Gas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of shares of all “Gas Utilities” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Northwest Natural Gas and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northwest Natural Gas	9.65%	8.23%	1.97%
Northwest Natural Gas Competitors	19.19%	7.77%	3.62%

Dividends

Northwest Natural Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas pays out 66.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Gas Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 11.9% and pay out 17.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Northwest Natural Gas has increased its dividend for 70 consecutive years. Northwest Natural Gas lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Northwest Natural Gas has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northwest Natural Gas’ peers have a beta of 0.42, indicating that their average stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Northwest Natural Gas and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northwest Natural Gas	0	5	3	2	2.70
Northwest Natural Gas Competitors	466	1413	1194	59	2.27

Northwest Natural Gas presently has a consensus price target of $55.43, suggesting a potential upside of 7.07%. As a group, “Gas Utilities” companies have a potential upside of 8.35%. Given Northwest Natural Gas’ peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Northwest Natural Gas has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Northwest Natural Gas peers beat Northwest Natural Gas on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

About Northwest Natural Gas

Northwest Natural Gas, now organized as NW Natural Holdings, is a utility company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas through its NW Natural subsidiary. The company serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. Founded in 1859 as the Portland Gas Light Company, the business has grown from a local gas provider into a regional utility. Its operations also include natural gas storage and, through subsidiaries, water and wastewater services.