Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from seven analysts: four buys, two holds, and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $55.80, above the reported share price of $47.84.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.01 EPS versus the projected $(0.08), although revenue of $243.55 million fell short of the $271.87 million estimate. Revenue increased 3.1% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 75.13% of the stock, while insiders sold 4,500 shares worth $225,105 over the past 90 days. Shares remain below their 12-month high of $55.99.

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.80.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Huntington started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Northwest Natural Gas from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $72,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,365,909.77. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $225,105 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 10.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 27,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 12.8% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 194,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,557,000 after purchasing an additional 22,055 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $47.84 on Thursday. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12 month low of $43.64 and a 12 month high of $55.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.40.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.87 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The company's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Gas Company, doing business as NW Natural, is a regulated natural gas distribution utility serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company delivers natural gas through its pipeline system and provides related services, including energy-efficiency programs, appliance services, and solutions designed to support safe and efficient natural gas use.

Founded in 1859, NW Natural has developed a long-standing presence in the Pacific Northwest. Its natural gas utility operations primarily serve communities in Oregon and southwest Washington.

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