Northwest Natural Gas Co

Northwest Natural Holdings said it expects 2026 earnings per share to land in the top half of its previously issued $2.95 to $3.15 guidance range, citing stronger-than-expected first-half performance, increased visibility into the second half and continued cost management. The company reported second-quarter EPS of $0.01, unchanged from a year earlier, and year-to-date EPS of $2.33. In Washington, regulators approved more than 80% of its requested revenue increase, while SiEnergy, its Texas gas utility, posted organic customer growth exceeding 15%. The $300 million MX3 gas-storage project remains on schedule despite an appeal, with notice to proceed expected by 2027 and in-service operations targeted for 2029, and 2026 capital spending is projected at $500 million to $550 million.

A group of five US-listed regulated utilities continues to deliver reliable dividends backed by multi-decade track records. Edison International yields 4.39% with 22 consecutive annual increases, while Dominion Energy holds a 3.78% yield and a $64.7 billion five-year capital plan tied to Virginia data center demand. Northwest Natural Holdings has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years, and WEC Energy Group has compounded 150% over the past decade with 23 straight increases. Evergy rounds out the list with a 3.23% yield and a $21.6 billion capex plan supporting 6% to 8%+ long-term EPS growth. All five are investment-grade, low-beta, and backed by verifiable dividend records spanning decades.

Northwest Natural Holding has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, in line with the previous payout. The dividend is payable on August 14 to shareholders of record as of July 31, with the ex-dividend date also on July 31. The forward yield is 3.97%. The company has now announced a dividend of $0.4925 for four consecutive quarters.

NW Natural has been selected as the sole winner of the 2026 National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition Corporate Excellence Award, recognizing its support of Oregon low-income energy efficiency programs. The award was presented on May 19 during the NEUAC annual conference in Seattle, honoring the company's innovative practices, community partnerships, and depth of programming for economically challenged customers. Central to the recognition is the Oregon Low-Income Energy Efficiency program, a no-cost, whole-home retrofit initiative funded through a public purpose charge on customer bills that has served 2,500 households over more than 20 years. NW Natural's community partnership model, working with the Oregon Energy Fund and Habitat for Humanity, has completed energy retrofits at two Habitat communities in Portland and Hillsboro.

NW Natural disclosed in its annual filing with the Oregon Public Utilities Commission that renewable natural gas accounted for 3.35% of its 2025 deliveries, up from the prior year. The company has already secured contracts for 4% RNG in 2026 and aims to increase that percentage again in 2027. NW Natural noted that its RNG contract volumes as a share of total natural gas deliveries are among the highest reported in the United States, comparable to the roughly 4% of total solar energy delivered to Oregon's electric grid in 2026. The utility also highlighted its first volumes purchased from an Oregon producer this year.