Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) is a conservatively managed natural gas utility with operations in Oregon and Washington State. The company’s biggest markets are:

  • Portland, Oregon
  • Eugene, Oregon
  • Vancouver, Washington
  • In total, Northwest Natural Gas serves over 700,000 customers. The company was founded in 1859 and currently has a market cap of $1.7 billion.

    The image below shows the company’s locations and service territory area.

    nwn-service-area

    Source:  Northwest Natural Gas August 2016 Investor Presentation, slide 5

    Northwest Natural Gas offers investors dividends and safety. The company has one of the longest streaks of consecutive dividend increases of any business…

    Northwest Natural Gas has paid increasing dividends for 60 consecutive years. The company’s long dividend history makes it one of just 18 Dividend Kings; dividend stocks with 50+ years of consecutive dividend increases. You can see all 18 Dividend Kings here.

    The company offers an above average yield of 3.2% to go along with its long history of rising dividends.

    Northwest Natural Gas operates in 2 segments:

  • Utility
  • Gas Storage
  • The utility segment has generated 94% of the company’s income through the first 6 months of fiscal 2016. The segment is by far the company’s largest.

    Keep reading this article to learn more about Northwest Natural Gas’s investment prospects.

    Current Events

    Northwest Natural Gas 2nd quarter results showed earnings-per-share decline from to $0.07 per share from $0.08 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

    Most businesses can’t ‘blame it on the weather’. Northwest Natural Gas actually can. Oregon has experienced an unusually warm year. According to Northwest Natural Gas’s press release, temperate were ‘42% warmer than average’.

    Despite warmer weather in its most recent quarter, Northwest Natural Gas has delivered adjusted earnings-per-share growth of 1.4% through the first 6 months of fiscal 2016.

    The company’s adjusted earnings-per-share guidance for fiscal 2016 is $2.05 to $2.20 per share. This implies growth of 4.6% to 12.2% in fiscal 2016 for Northwest Natural Gas. The company will have to have strong quarters in the back half of the year to hit its guidance.

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