Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $1.65 Million Stock Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWNFree Report) by 58.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,016 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.08% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NWN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $48.84 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $55.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.72.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWNGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.Northwest Natural Gas’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 67.24%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was 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 owned 149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on NWN

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN)

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