Bank of America Corp DE Sells 51,033 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Northwest Natural Gas stake by 21% in the first quarter, selling 51,033 shares and retaining 191,461 shares worth approximately $10.19 million. Institutional investors own 75.13% of NWN.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported quarterly EPS of $0.01, beating estimates by $0.09, while revenue reached $243.55 million, up 3.1% year over year but below analyst expectations. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.95–$3.15.
• NWN pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.97 and a 4.0% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $55.25, versus a recent share price of $49.54.

Bank of America Corp DE cut its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,033 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.45% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $10,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 76,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 21,194 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $630,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 17.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 193,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,280,000 after buying an additional 28,084 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 35,252 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 13,016 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1,660.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 23,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 21,724 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $49.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a one year low of $40.84 and a one year high of $55.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.92.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. The company 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%. Northwest Natural Gas's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.67%.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.86, for a total transaction of $76,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,581,602.74. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on NWN. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. 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 research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Profile

Northwest Natural Gas NYSE: NWN, commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.

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