UBS Group AG Grows Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

UBS Group AG lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,194 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $3,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 6,616.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 455,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,294,000 after buying an additional 448,796 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock worth $89,579 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NWN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.25.

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.