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Reasons to Add Northwest Natural (NWN) to Your Portfolio Now

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Northwest Natural Holding Company (NWN - Free Report) , through its subsidiaries, provides natural gas, water and wastewater services to customers in the United States. NWN is making strategic acquisitions and taking organic initiatives to further expand its operations

Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 and 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $2.53 and $2.69, respectively. The 2022 and 2023 estimates have risen 0.4% and 0.37%, respectively in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 and 2023 revenues is pegged at $931.7 million and $973.6 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 8.3% and 4.5%, respectively.

Long-Term EPS Growth & Surprise History

Northwest Natural’s trailing four-quarter earnings surprise is 21.8%, on average. NWN’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is currently projected at 4.65%.

Regular Investments & Steady Customer Growth

Northwest Natural makes consistent investments to upgrade and maintain the existing infrastructure and expand operations as well. NWN looks to invest in the range of $310-$350 million in 2022 and $1.3-$1.5 billion during 2022-2026 in natural gas operations. NW Natural Holdings increased its long-term earnings per share growth rate target to 4% to 6% compounded annually, from 2022 through 2027, from its previous range of 3% to 5%.

Northwest Natural has been registering a consistent increase in gas utility customer volumes over the past few years. At the end of 2021, NWN’s customer volumes increased 1.5% year over year. It expects gas utility customer growth to continue over the long term and boost its performance.

Dividend

Northwest Natural has a long history of dividend payments. It has increased its annual dividend rate for 66 consecutive years.

Currently, Northwest Natural has a dividend yield of 3.72%, which is higher than the industry’s 3.12%.

Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural have risen 7.3% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 4.1% rally.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks in the same sector include American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report)   and American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) , each currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and Otter Tail Corporation (OTTR - Free Report) , which sports a Zacks Rank #1.

American Electric Power, American Water Works and Otter Tail delivered an earnings surprise of 2.4%, 5.2% and 36.9%, respectively, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings of American Electric Power, American Water Works and Otter Tail suggests growth of 5.3%, 4.9% and 26.9%, respectively, from previous years’ corresponding reported numbers.

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