Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from six analysts, with three buys, one strong buy and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $55.25, above the reported share price of $48.47.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.01 versus the consensus estimate of a $0.08 loss, although revenue of $243.55 million fell short of estimates. Revenue increased 3.1% year over year.
• Northwest Natural Gas pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equivalent to a 4.1% annual yield and a 65.67% payout ratio; institutional investors own 75.13% of the stock.

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on NWN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NWN stock opened at $48.47 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas has a twelve month low of $41.50 and a twelve month high of $55.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $50.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.86, for a total value of $76,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,581,602.74. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 5,344.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,270,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228,361 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,885,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,160,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,287,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 587,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,437,000 after acquiring an additional 250,025 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Gas Company, operating under 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, along with related utility and energy services.

Through its regulated natural gas utility, Northwest Natural serves customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. The company also has expanded beyond its traditional gas-distribution operations through businesses involved in water and wastewater services, renewable natural gas and other energy-related activities.

The company traces its history to 1859 and has developed into one of the Pacific Northwest's established natural gas utilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.