Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Given New $52.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 8.56% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NWN. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.67.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NWN opened at $47.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.51 and its 200 day moving average is $42.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12-month low of $38.03 and a 12-month high of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.09. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $164.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.71) earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total transaction of $347,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,869 shares of company stock valued at $1,882,588. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter worth about $48,551,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,007,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 1,493.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 368,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,749,000 after purchasing an additional 345,526 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 577.6% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 266,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,593,000 after acquiring an additional 227,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 20.7% in the second quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 940,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,355,000 after buying an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.