Deutsche Bank AG Sells 20,152 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 18.3%, selling 20,152 shares and owning 90,000 shares worth approximately $3.85 million.
• Institutional investors hold 75.13% of Northwest Natural Gas shares, with various firms like Vanguard and Dimensional Fund Advisors increasing their stakes in recent quarters.
• Northwest Natural Gas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 4.9% as of the last payment date on August 15th.

Deutsche Bank AG decreased its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,152 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.22% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $3,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 33,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 4,554 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter worth $252,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter worth $1,151,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 11,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 79,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,958.31. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,574 shares of company stock valued at $918,517. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NWN traded up $1.3050 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.0150. 320,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 256,347. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.70 and its 200 day moving average is $41.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a one year low of $38.03 and a one year high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $236.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

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.