News Flash: Analysts Just Made A Sizeable Upgrade To Their Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE:NWN) Forecasts

Celebrations may be in order for Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE:NWN) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The analysts have sharply increased their revenue numbers, with a view that Northwest Natural Holding will make substantially more sales than they'd previously expected.

Following this upgrade, Northwest Natural Holding's six analysts are forecasting 2023 revenues to be US$1.2b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to reduce 5.0% to US$2.67 in the same period. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.0b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.67 in 2023. There's clearly been a surge in bullishness around the company's sales pipeline, even if there's no real change in earnings per share forecasts.

View our latest analysis for Northwest Natural Holding

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Northwest Natural Holding's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2023 expected to display 3.1% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 9.9% over the past five years. Compare this to the 16 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 2.7% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Northwest Natural Holding's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with analysts reconfirming that earnings per share are expected to continue performing in line with their prior expectations. They also upgraded their revenue forecasts, although the latest estimates suggest that Northwest Natural Holding will grow in line with the overall market. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at Northwest Natural Holding.

These earnings upgrades look like a sterling endorsement, but before diving in - you should know that we've spotted 3 potential warning signs with Northwest Natural Holding, including dilutive stock issuance over the past year. You can learn more, and discover the 2 other warning signs we've identified, for free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.