Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.06% of Northwest Natural Gas at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 30,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 67,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen began 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 for the company. 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 objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.
Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance
Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $51.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $39.29 and a 52 week high of $55.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The business had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.
Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend
The firm 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 $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.
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