Groupe la Francaise Makes New $381,000 Investment in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company, purchasing 9,137 shares valued at approximately $381,000.
• Analyst ratings for Northwest Natural Gas include a recent buy rating from Stifel Nicolaus, raising the price target from $45.00 to $49.00, with a consensus rating of Hold at an average target price of $48.00.
• Northwest Natural Gas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49, representing an annualized yield of 4.7%.

Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter valued at approximately $16,007,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 238.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 376,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,885,000 after acquiring an additional 265,013 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,851,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 223,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,536,000 after purchasing an additional 85,132 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 5,225.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 70,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.50. 193,421 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 263,562. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $38.03 and a 12 month high of $44.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.30. 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 capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. 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 payout ratio is 77.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total transaction of $306,216.82. Following the transaction, the director 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 can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,574 shares of company stock worth $918,517. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NWN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 report on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.