Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN Position Decreased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,851 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $6,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $49.98 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $55.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The firm had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NWN. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 149 shares in the company, valued at $7,832.93. This trade represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Profile

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN), commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.