Northwest Natural Holding (NWN) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.49 on November 15th

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 10th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.49 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49.

Northwest Natural has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 69 years. Northwest Natural has a payout ratio of 68.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Northwest Natural to earn $2.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.95 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.6%.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Northwest Natural stock opened at $39.84 on Friday. Northwest Natural has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $41.20. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.03.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 6.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

About Northwest Natural

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.