Start here if you're new
what it is
NWN delivers natural gas to more than 800,000 customers and also runs water and wastewater systems across six states.
how it gets paid
Last year N.W. Natural made $1.3B in revenue. residential gas service was the main engine at $0.85B, or 65% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 11.8% last year. Revenue rose 443% vs. prior year and EPS rose 286% vs. prior year.
what just happened
Revenue hit $895M and EPS came in at $1.39, ahead of the $1.34 estimate.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
35/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
16.4x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
4.1% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
4.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 68/100 — average
What they do
NWN delivers natural gas to more than 800,000 customers and also runs water and wastewater systems across six states.
This is a local monopoly with pipes in the ground and 800,000 customers already connected. Oregon is 88% of the customer base, so your service area is dense, familiar, and hard for anyone else to copy. Underground storage and pipeline transport rights mean supply access is already built, which keeps the moat physical, boring, and expensive to challenge.
How they make money
$1.3B
annual revenue · their business grew +11.8% last year
residential gas service
$0.85B
commercial gas service
$0.33B
industrial gas service
$0.08B
other gas margin
$0.05B
The products that matter
regulated gas delivery utility
Regulated Gas Distribution
$1.3B revenue · 2.5M people served
it's the core business and still the whole financial story on this page: $1.3B in revenue, 2.5 million people served, and the monopoly economics that make the dividend possible.
the core asset
texas utility expansion
SiEnergy platform
jan 2025 acquisition
the january 2025 sienergy deal is part of the reason the company can even talk about 44% revenue growth. the page gives no separate revenue split, so you should treat this as an important growth lever, not a fully disclosed segment thesis.
growth lever
adjacent utility roll-up
Water, Wastewater and Lower-Carbon Projects
strategy, not the core today
management is adding water and wastewater assets and investing in renewable natural gas, hydrogen, and carbon capture, but this page gives zero revenue split. with $1.3B still sitting in the utility base, you should view this as optionality for now.
optional upside
Key numbers
21.8%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: NWN keeps about 21.8 cents from each sales dollar before interest and taxes, solid for a regulated utility.
$2.1B
long debt
Long-term debt → money owed for years → so what: $2.1B equals 49% of capital, a heavy load for a company with a market cap around $2B.
4.1%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → annual cash payout as a share of the stock price → so what: NWN pays you more income than the projected near-term stock upside.
4.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on invested money → so what: 4.0% says this is stable, not efficient, which fits a utility but limits excitement.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 90 / 100
- long-term debt $2.1B (49% of capital)
- net profit margin 11.3% — keeps 11 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 8% — $0.08 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — balance sheet grade looks solid but long-term debt needs watching.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in NWN 3 years ago → it's now worth $11,620.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $895M and EPS came in at $1.39, ahead of the $1.34 estimate.
Revenue rose 443% vs. prior year and EPS rose 286% vs. prior year, helped by seasonal strength. This business tends to do its best work in the first and fourth quarters, which is the least surprising surprise in utilities.
$895M
revenue
$1.39
eps
21.8%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The key number was $1.39 in EPS because it beat the $1.34 estimate and showed the fourth quarter still carries the earnings load here.
-
northwest natural tends to do best in its first and fourth quarters.that’s because these interims cover the coldest months of the year, driving up seasonal demand and use of natural gas for heat in the company’s core geographic regions. favorable utility rate structures, and a greater use of water and wastewater services supplements nwn’s revenue boost during these periods.
-
the fourth quarter of 2025 should have been no different.this was an unusually cold quarter for residents of the utility’s oregon, and relatively newly acquired texas territories. higher operating expenses, depreciation, and interest costs probably kept share net slightly below the year-ago figure.
-
the utility is continuing its market expansion.in an attempt to further grow its revenue base, northwest is expanding its regulated natural gas business into high population growth states like texas.
-
the january, 2025 sienergy buy was a move in this direction.the company is also acquiring small water and waste water companies in arizona, idaho, and california, as well as in its home state of oregon. too, northwest is investing in renewable natural gas projects, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.
-
these are all intended to reduce costs over the long haul.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is rate-case and cost-recovery execution in oregon and texas.
med
rate-case friction
This is a regulated business. If commissions move slowly or push back on cost recovery, revenue can grow without shareholder returns improving much.
With return on equity at 8% and return on capital at 4.0%, there is not much room for regulatory delays to go unnoticed.
med
interest-cost pressure
NWN has $2.1B of long-term debt. Utility models can carry leverage, but they still feel the difference when interest expense rises faster than allowed returns.
A 10.4% net margin is healthy, not huge. Higher financing costs can eat into that faster than the dividend crowd likes.
med
gas demand and electrification
The long-term risk is straightforward: policy and consumer behavior can shift away from natural gas, especially in coastal markets where electrification has political momentum.
That does not break the business tomorrow, but it can pressure the durability of a franchise serving 2.5 million people over time.
med
expansion execution
Texas, water, wastewater, renewable natural gas, hydrogen, and carbon capture all sound sensible. They also require capital, integration, and patience.
If last year's 44% revenue growth does not translate into earnings above the current $3.00 estimate, the market will treat this like a plain utility again. Because it is one.
A business earning 10.4% net margins with $2.1B of long-term debt does not have much room for rate delays, integration stumbles, or a slower demand backdrop.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
next rate-case decisions
For a regulated utility, this is the scoreboard. If approved returns improve, the whole growth narrative looks cleaner.
metric
EPS versus the $3.00 estimate
That is the easiest way to tell whether last year's 44% revenue jump is becoming real shareholder value.
trend
SiEnergy and texas integration
Texas is the growth angle. You want to see it add scale without turning cost discipline into a suggestion.
risk
debt and financing costs
$2.1B of long-term debt is fine until it stops being fine. Watch interest pressure alongside capex and expansion plans.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts see a stock behaving like a normal utility right now, not a breakout story.
risk profile
above average
stability score 2 — safer than roughly 80% of stocks, which is exactly what many utility investors are paying for.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2 — recent price action has been better than most stocks, even if the long-run return record is still mediocre.
earnings predictability
35 / 100
the weather, rate timing, and acquisition noise make quarterly earnings less clean than the word utility usually implies.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 138 buyers vs. 121 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 33.4M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$35
$55
$48
current price
$45
target midpoint · 6% from current · 3-5yr high: $75 (+55% · 15% ann'l return)
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The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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