Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Earns Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN)‘s stock had its “hold (c)” rating reissued by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NWN stock opened at $47.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.91. Northwest Natural Gas has a fifty-two week low of $38.03 and a fifty-two week high of $47.79.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $236.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total transaction of $347,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,060,736.58. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,869 shares of company stock worth $1,882,588. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,755,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42,115 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,083,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $82,749,000 after purchasing an additional 131,019 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,403,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,081,000 after purchasing an additional 181,635 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 956,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 940,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,355,000 after purchasing an additional 161,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.