BTIG has upgraded its price target for Northwest Natural Gas stock, raising it to $59 from $56 while keeping a Buy rating. The firm cited the company’s strong operational performance following its third-quarter report released on November 5. Shares of Northwest Natural Gas outperformed the utilities sector by 140 basis points and were among the few stocks in BTIG’s coverage to trade higher that day.
The analyst noted that while the earnings call contained no major announcements and represented a typical shoulder quarter for the gas local distribution company, Northwest Natural Gas raised its 2026 guidance based on solid operations. BTIG highlighted the company’s combination of low-risk operations in water and gas distribution, high dividend yield, and discounted valuation as key factors supporting the investment opportunity.
The company currently offers a dividend yield of 3.86% and trades at a P/E ratio of 17.16 with a market cap of $2.19 billion. According to InvestingPro analysis, NWN has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years, though the stock appears overvalued relative to its Fair Value. Despite this, BTIG maintained its positive outlook on the stock, acknowledging that Northwest Natural Gas is not the fastest-growing company in its coverage universe.
In other recent news, Northwest Natural Holding Co. reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the third quarter. The company posted an adjusted loss of $0.71 per share, outperforming analyst expectations of a $0.89 loss. Revenue was slightly below forecasts, coming in at $177.97 million compared to the anticipated $179.14 million. Despite the revenue shortfall, Northwest Natural raised its full-year earnings outlook and increased its 2026 EPS guidance to a range of $3.10 to $3.20.