Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN – Get Free Report)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $49.79 and traded as high as $50.10. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $49.8890, with a volume of 169,279 shares trading hands.
Analyst Ratings Changes
NWN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.25.
View Our Latest Stock Report on NWN
Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.
Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.24%.
Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas
In other news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,832.93. This trade represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 131,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 989,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,261,000 after acquiring an additional 16,297 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 860,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,512 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 743,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,571,000 after acquiring an additional 18,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 587,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,437,000 after purchasing an additional 250,025 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Northwest Natural Gas
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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