Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) is an Oregon-based utility. In previous articles I’d discussed why income investors should target dividend kings – or stocks that have achieved at least 50 consecutive years of dividend growth.
Top U.S. indices enjoyed big gains in 2019, but the economy is set to slow in 2020 even in the wake of a trade deal with China.
Investing in dividend stocks that have consistently hiked payouts is a great way to play a little defence to start this decade. Northwest Natural Gas fits the bill. A softening rate environment has been positive for utilities and other stable dividend stocks. The U.S. Federal Reserve dropped rates three times last year. Shares of Northwest Natural climbed 25% in 2019.
The company released its third quarter 2019 results on November 5. It reaffirmed its 2019 GAAP earnings guidance in the range of $2.02 to $2.22 per share. Adjusted earnings reached $1.19 for the full year.
Northwest Natural also announced an increase to its annual dividend to $1.91 per share. This represents a 2.6% yield. It has now delivered dividend-growth for 64 consecutive years.
Shares of Northwest are expensive to kick off 2020. The stock had a price-to-earnings ratio of 34 and a price-to-book value of 2.6 at the time of this writing. Value investors may want to wait for a better entry point before pulling the trigger.
