Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Makes New $597,000 Investment in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $597,000 in Northwest Natural Gas Company, purchasing 15,020 shares in the second quarter.
• The company's stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion and recently reported an EPS of $0.01 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• Northwest Natural Gas announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4925, which represents a 4.2% dividend yield, compared to the previous dividend of $0.49.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. OLD Republic International Corp purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter worth $201,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter valued at about $214,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NWN opened at $46.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $42.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1 year low of $38.03 and a 1 year high of $46.68.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This is a boost from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.47%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $472,905.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,336,490. The trade was a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,369 shares of company stock worth $1,534,663. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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