Section 1: Company Overview and Fundamentals Insights

Company Overview: Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) is a provider of natural gas services via its subsidiaries. The company distributes natural gas to commercial, residential, and industrial customers in southwest Washington and Oregon. Kalkine’s Global Green Report covers the Investment Highlights, Management Insights, Key Financial Metrics, Risks, and Technical Analysis along with the Valuation, Target Price, and Recommendation on the stock.

1.2 The Key Positives, Negatives, Investment Highlights, and Risks

1.3 Top 10 Shareholders:

The top 10 shareholders together form ~44.22% of the total shareholding. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A., The Vanguard Group Inc., hold maximum stakes in the company at ~15.82% and ~11.48%, respectively.

1.4 Key Metrics: NWN's Debt/Equity ratio improved to 1.30x in FY23 vs 1.36x in FY22. Below are captured other metrics:

Section 2: Business Updates, Financial and Operational Highlights

2.1 Recent Business Updates:

2.2 Q4FY23 Results Highlights (for the period ended 31 December 2023): Below mentioned are some key financial highlights:   

2.3 Historical Financial Trend

Section 3: Key Risks and Outlook:

Section 4: Stock Recommendation Summary

4.1 Price Performance and Technical Summary

The stock has declined by ~6.60% in the last 3 months, whereas over the last 1 year, it has corrected by ~24.25%. The stock has a 52-week low and 52-week high of USD 34.95 and USD 49.085, respectively, and is currently trading below the average of 52-week high and low. NWN was last covered in a report dated ‘18 October 2023’.

4.2 Fundamental Valuation

Valuation Methodology: P/E Multiple Based Relative Valuation (Illustrative)

 Markets are trading in a highly volatile zone currently due to certain macro-economic issues and geopolitical tensions prevailing. Therefore, it is prudent to follow a cautious approach while investing.

Note 1: Past performance is neither an indicator nor a guarantee of future performance.

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance levels is 19 March 2024. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.

Note 3: Investment decisions should be made depending on an individual's appetite for upside potential, risks, holding duration, and any previous holdings. An 'Exit' from the stock can be considered if the Target Price mentioned as per the Valuation and or the technical levels provided has been achieved and is subject to the factors discussed above.

Note 4: Dividend Yield may vary as per the stock price movement.

Technical Indicators Defined: -

Support: A level at which the stock prices tend to find support if they are falling, and a downtrend may take a pause backed by demand or buying interest. Support 1 refers to the nearby support level for the stock and if the price breaches the level, then Support 2 may act as the crucial support level for the stock.

Resistance: A level at which the stock prices tend to find resistance when they are rising, and an uptrend may take a pause due to profit booking or selling interest. Resistance 1 refers to the nearby resistance level for the stock and if the price surpasses the level, then Resistance 2 may act as the crucial resistance level for the stock.

Stop-loss: It is a level to protect further losses in case of unfavourable movement in the stock prices.