Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Announces Earnings Results

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.950-3.150 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Northwest Natural Gas’ conference call:

• 2026 EPS guidance is now expected in the top half of the $2.95–$3.15 range, supported by strong year-to-date results, cost management, and improved visibility into the second half.
• SiEnergy delivered more than 15% organic customer growth and benefited from its large backlog of over 260,000 future meters; management continues to expect 15%–20% annual customer growth through 2030.
• Regulatory progress was favorable, including Washington’s rate order granting over 80% of the requested revenue increase and Oregon’s $13 million alternative-rate settlement, with benefits expected later in 2026.
• NW Natural Water’s first-half results were modestly below plan as higher operating and integration costs offset revenue growth, although customer growth reached 3.4% and four rate cases remain underway.
• The $300 million MX3 storage expansion remains fully contracted with 25-year agreements and is on track for notice to proceed by the end of 2027; completion could raise the company’s long-term earnings growth target from 4%–6% to 5%–7%.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.49. 57,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,340. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.88 and a 200 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.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $76,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,674,615.62. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3,319.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 211,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,887,000 after buying an additional 205,350 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 224.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 286,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after buying an additional 198,074 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2,279.2% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 150,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 144,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $82,749,000 after purchasing an additional 131,019 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NWN shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

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.