Ballentine Partners LLC Buys New Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company, acquiring 13,358 shares valued at approximately $531,000 in the second quarter.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.01, exceeding analyst estimates, and set its FY 2025 guidance between 2.750-2.950 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share with a yield of 4.4%, and has a current dividend payout ratio of 77.47%.

Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,531,000 after purchasing an additional 6,870 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 5,225.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 70,799 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter valued at $991,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 9.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 113,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $44.67 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1 year low of $38.03 and a 1 year high of $44.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.59.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total transaction of $328,403.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,030,073.86. This represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,869 shares of company stock worth $949,320. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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.

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