Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.49

Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.488 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

Northwest Natural has raised its dividend by an average of 0.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 69 consecutive years. Northwest Natural has a payout ratio of 67.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Northwest Natural to earn $2.86 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 68.2%.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 0.9 %

NWN stock opened at $38.33 on Friday. Northwest Natural has a 52 week low of $34.95 and a 52 week high of $48.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $355.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Northwest Natural will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.20.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

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.