Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE:NWN) Third-Quarter Results: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For Next Year
It's been a good week for Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE:NWN) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest quarterly results, and the shares gained 3.6% to US$51.75. It was a respectable set of results; while revenues of US$178m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory losses were 18% smaller than expected, with Northwest Natural Holding losing US$0.71 per share. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Northwest Natural Holding's eight analysts is for revenues of US$1.44b in 2027. This would reflect a notable 10% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 7.8% to US$3.22. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.44b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.20 in 2027. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.
View our latest analysis for Northwest Natural Holding
It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$55.29. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Northwest Natural Holding analyst has a price target of US$61.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$49.00. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Northwest Natural Holding is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.
Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. The period to the end of 2027 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 8.1% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 7.8% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 7.5% annually. So although Northwest Natural Holding is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's only growing at about the rate of the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$55.29, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Northwest Natural Holding analysts - going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Northwest Natural Holding (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of.
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