Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $265,000 Stock Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has significantly reduced its stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company, decreasing its holdings by 57.2% to 6,200 shares, valued at $265,000.
• Northwest Natural Gas recently reported earnings of $2.28 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.09, while its quarterly revenue increased by 14.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.96 with a yield of 4.9%, scheduled for payment on August 15th.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH decreased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 57.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,300 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 238.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 376,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,885,000 after purchasing an additional 265,013 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,851,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $4,392,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 223,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,536,000 after purchasing an additional 85,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 5,225.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,082,000 after buying an additional 70,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following the sale, the director owned 102,291 shares in the company, valued at $4,192,908.09. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,591 shares of company stock worth $923,455. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NWN stock traded up $0.39 on Thursday, reaching $40.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 103,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,033. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.55. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $37.41 and a 52 week high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%. As a group, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.