Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases Shares of 183,785 Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 183,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,851,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.46% of Northwest Natural Gas at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NWN stock traded down $0.14 on Thursday, reaching $41.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 227,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,220. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $37.41 and a 52 week high of $44.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 102,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,192,908.09. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,591 shares of company stock worth $931,255. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.