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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE NWN traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 145,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.61. Northwest Natural Gas has a fifty-two week low of $39.63 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.87 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company’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 company posted $0.01 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $76,770.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,674,615.62. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Northwest Natural Gas this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded NWN: Wells Fargo raised its rating from “underweight” to “equal weight,” indicating a less negative view of the stock. The firm assigned a $50 price target, suggesting limited downside from recent levels. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations: Northwest Natural reported second-quarter EPS of $0.01, exceeding the consensus estimate for a loss of $0.08 per share by $0.09. Revenue increased 3.1% year over year to $243.55 million. Northwest Natural Q2 earnings snapshot
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects the upper half of its earnings range: NWN maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.95 to $3.15 and said it expects results in the upper half of that range, supporting confidence in its earnings outlook. Northwest Natural 2026 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: MX3 project progresses: The company continues advancing the MX3 project toward an expected end-2027 notice to proceed, offering a potential longer-term growth catalyst but not an immediate earnings driver. NW Natural Holdings second-quarter results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates: Quarterly revenue of $243.55 million fell short of the $271.87 million analyst consensus, tempering the impact of the EPS beat. Northwest Natural earnings and revenue report

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 3rd quarter worth $277,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 3rd quarter worth $280,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter worth $247,000. 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.