Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.25.

NWN has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. 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, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $76,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,615.62. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 197.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $48.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.52. Northwest Natural Gas has a fifty-two week low of $39.29 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 0.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 67.24%.

Northwest Natural Gas Company 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.