Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,316 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $6,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Abound Wealth Management bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Republic International Corp bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.
Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 3.2%
NWN stock traded up $1.3050 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.0150. 320,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 256,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.27. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $38.03 and a 1-year high of $44.38.
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.47%.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total value of $306,216.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 79,717 shares in the company, valued at $3,222,958.31. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 22,574 shares of company stock valued at $918,517 in the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have commented on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Northwest Natural Gas
About Northwest Natural Gas
(
Free Report)
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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