At a glance
Northwest Natural Gas Co is worth $2.08B, about 18 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 11.8% to $1.29B in fiscal 2025, with 8.8% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 10.8% a year. It pays a 3.96% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $336.2M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +9.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +6.1% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 32.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 22.8% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Northwest Natural Holding is a utility company based in Portland, Oregon. Its core business, NW Natural, has supplied gas since 1859. It delivers natural gas to homes, businesses and industry in western Oregon, including the Portland area and most of the Willamette Valley, and in southwest Washington. As of December 31, 2025, it served about 810,000 meters, with 88% of customers in Oregon. No other gas distributor competes there, but electricity, fuel oil and propane do.
It makes money as a regulated utility. Oregon and Washington commissions set rates that give it a chance to recover prudent costs and earn a reasonable return on the pipes and storage it builds. The cost of the gas itself is mostly passed through to customers, so profit comes from margin, roughly the revenue left after paying for gas. Households used 37% of the gas delivered in 2025 but supplied 66% of utility margin. Commercial customers added 25%. Industrial users took 40% of volume but only 5% of margin. Demand peaks in winter.
The holding company reports two other segments. SiEnergy, bought in January 2025, runs gas distribution and transmission utilities in Texas. NWN Water provides water and wastewater services in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona and Texas. A separate unit, NWN Renewables, pursues unregulated renewable natural gas. Total revenue was $1.29 billion in 2025.
Price history
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NWN +9.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $243.6M, up 3.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $600K.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.29B (+11.8% year over year; +10.8% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 8.8% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +10.8% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 21.8% good |
| Free cash flow margin | -15.3% weak |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 7.7% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 1.8% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-2.48B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $773.7M | $76.8M | $-127.7M |
| FY2021 | $860.4M | $78.7M | $-133.5M |
| FY2022 | $1.04B | $86.3M | $-190.9M |
| FY2023 | $1.20B | $93.9M | $-47.4M |
| FY2024 | $1.15B | $78.9M | $-194.1M |
| FY2025 | $1.29B | $113.3M | $-197.8M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.08B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 17.9 |
| Dividend yield | 3.96% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Northwest Natural Gas’s market value went from $2.24B at the end of 2019 to $2.08B on Oct 28, 2026, down 7%; since the end of 2025 it is up 7%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $2.08B | +7.3% |
| 2025 | $1.94B | +22.2% |
| 2024 | $1.59B | +10.9% |
| 2023 | $1.43B | -14.3% |
| 2022 | $1.67B | +11.4% |
| 2021 | $1.50B | +6.6% |
| 2020 | $1.41B | -37.4% |
| 2019 | $2.24B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWN price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +9.0% | +9.3% | +15.4% | +6.1% | +2.3% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +9.0% |
| 2025 | +23.8% |
| 2024 | +6.8% |
| 2023 | -14.4% |
| 2022 | +1.4% |
| 2021 | +10.3% |
| 2020 | -35.5% |
| 2019 | +25.5% |
| 2018 | +4.5% |
| 2017 | +2.8% |
| 2016 | +22.2% |
| 2015 | +5.5% |
| 2014 | +21.5% |
| 2013 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | -4.2% |
| 2011 | +7.2% |
| 2010 | +7.0% |
| 2009 | +5.7% |
| 2008 | -5.4% |
| 2007 | +18.5% |
| 2006 | +28.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 13.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 26.9%, back to its old high 19.3 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 32.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 32.6%, not recovered by the end of the data |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 7.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 22.8%, back to its old high 37.2 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 2 open-market purchases ($80K) and 8 sales ($464K), 5 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2026 | David A. Weber VP, Gas Supply | sell | $89K |
| Jul 20, 2026 | David Hugo Anderson Director | sell (plan) | $77K |
| Jun 26, 2026 | David Hugo Anderson Director | sell (plan) | $76K |
| Aug 18, 2026 | David Hugo Anderson Director | sell (plan) | $76K |
| Oct 19, 2026 | David Hugo Anderson Director | sell (plan) | $73K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 15% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.36% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.2% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 4% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in NWN
| PSCU Invesco S&P SmallCap Utilities & Communication Services ETF | 2.45% |
| PEY Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers™ ETF | 2.43% |
| CVAR Cultivar ETF | 2.36% |
| DIV Global X SuperDividend U.S. ETF | 2.25% |
| CSB VictoryShares US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Wtd ETF | 1.73% |
| TMDV ProShares Russell U.S. Dividend Growers ETF | 1.65% |
| SMDV ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF | 1.13% |
| OASC OneAscent Small Cap Core ETF | 0.69% |
What could go wrong
- Depends on one pipeline for gas supply. NW Natural relies on a single pipeline company to bring gas into its service territory. An outage, limit or shortfall on that system could leave it unable to meet customer demand.
- Policy shifts toward electric heating. Laws, building codes, ballot measures or lawsuits that favor electric heat could slow new gas hookups. Advocacy groups push for electrification in its rate cases, and Oregon's House Bill 3179 restricts NW Natural.
- Regulators decide what it can charge. State regulators in Oregon, Washington and Texas set its rates. They can refuse to let it recover costs or approve increases late, so spending can run ahead of revenue, called regulatory lag.
- Expansion beyond Oregon gas may disappoint. Returns from its water utilities and unregulated renewable natural gas (RNG) projects rest on assumptions that may prove wrong. Those projects, and deals like the Texas SiEnergy purchase, can face delays, extra costs or write-downs.
- Heavy debt and constant need for capital. Total debt was about $2.5 billion against $24 million of cash as of June 30, 2026, and free cash flow was negative every year from 2020 to 2025. Higher borrowing costs could squeeze earnings.
- Warm winters and conservation cut sales. Most gas is used for winter heating. Warmer-than-average weather, or customers using less gas through efficiency, can lower revenue. Slower growth in new hookups would also weigh on margin and earnings.
Recent events
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- New debt or financial obligation
For income and retirement investors
Northwest Natural has raised its dividend at least 9 years in a row, but the raises are small: dividends per share went from $1.91 in 2020 to $1.96 in 2025, about 0.5% a year. The dividend used 68% of 2025 earnings. Free cash flow (operating cash minus capital spending) was negative every year from 2020 to 2025, so the company relied on borrowing and new shares. It bought back no stock from 2021 to 2025, and the share count rose 37% between October 2021 and July 2026. The yield was 3.96% as of October 28, 2026.
The stock dropped 26.9% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 19 months to recover. It fell 32.6% in the 2020 COVID crash and had not regained its pre-crash peak as of October 28, 2026. In the 2022 bear market it fell 22.8% and needed about 37 months to recover. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Northwest Natural make money?
Mostly by delivering natural gas through its regulated utility, NW Natural, which served about 810,000 meters in Oregon and southwest Washington as of December 31, 2025. Regulators set rates that give it a chance to recover prudent costs and earn a reasonable return on its investment. Gas costs are largely passed through to customers, so profit comes from delivery. Households supplied 66% of utility margin and commercial customers 25%. Texas gas utilities and water businesses in five states add to revenue.
Does Northwest Natural raise its dividend every year?
Yes. It has raised its dividend at least 9 years in a row, and the true streak may be longer. The increases are small, though: dividends per share rose from $1.91 in 2020 to $1.96 in 2025, about 0.5% a year. The dividend took about 68% of 2025 earnings, and the yield was 3.96% as of October 28, 2026. Free cash flow was negative each year from 2020 to 2025, so the company has relied on borrowing and new shares.
Does Northwest Natural only operate in Oregon?
No. Its gas utility serves Oregon and southwest Washington, with 88% of customers in Oregon. In January 2025 the holding company acquired SiEnergy, which runs gas distribution and transmission utilities in Texas. NWN Water provides water and wastewater services in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona and Texas. A separate unregulated unit, NWN Renewables, pursues renewable natural gas projects.
Could the shift to electric heating hurt Northwest Natural?
Yes, the company lists it as a risk. Natural gas was used in an estimated 64% of single-family homes in NW Natural's territory in 2025, and new single-family homes are its largest source of growth. Laws, building codes, ballot initiatives or lawsuits that favor electricity could slow new hookups. Groups taking part in its rate cases push for electrification or phasing out the gas system, and Oregon's House Bill 3179 places restrictions on the company.
How has NWN stock performed over the long term?
Modestly. On a share-price basis, NWN gained about 2.3% a year over the 10 years to October 28, 2026, or 25% in total, and about 6.1% a year over five years. The one-year gain was 9.3%. Calendar years have swung widely, from a 35.5% loss in 2020 to a 23.8% gain in 2025. The shares traded at about 17.9 times 2025 earnings as of October 28, 2026.