Northwest Natural Gas Company (NWN) - What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 10 analysts, with five buys, four holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $54.86 versus a recent share price of $49.93.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.01 compared with the consensus estimate of a $0.08 loss, although revenue of $243.55 million fell short of forecasts. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $3.06.
• Northwest Natural raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, equivalent to $2.00 annually and a 4.0% yield. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the stock, while insiders have recently been net sellers.

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.86.

Several research firms have weighed in on NWN. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley cut Northwest Natural Gas to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Truist Financial began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Huntington started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $49.93 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. Northwest Natural Gas has a one year low of $44.45 and a one year high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $271.87 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.4925. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.71, for a total value of $73,065.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,340.89. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $221,400. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position 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. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 6.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northwest Natural Gas

Northwest Natural Gas Company, operating as NW Natural and a subsidiary of Northwest Natural Holding Company, is an energy and utility company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Its principal business is the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NW Natural serves communities primarily in Oregon and southwest Washington through a regulated natural gas distribution system. The company also provides related services, including natural gas storage and programs focused on renewable natural gas and other lower-carbon energy solutions.

The company traces its history to 1859 and has expanded beyond its traditional natural gas operations through investments in water and wastewater utilities.

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