IMS Capital Management Invests $564,000 in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• IMS Capital Management has invested $564,000 in Northwest Natural Gas Company by acquiring 14,210 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Northwest Natural Gas recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, which provides a dividend yield of 4.5% and a payout ratio of 77.47%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Northwest Natural Gas, with the average price target set at $48.00.

IMS Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $564,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,537,000 after buying an additional 5,317 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 105,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,496,000 after purchasing an additional 9,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 77,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE NWN opened at $43.58 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.36. 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 company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.59. 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, 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. Research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given 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 4.5%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is 77.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total transaction of $328,403.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,030,073.86. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 22,869 shares of company stock valued at $949,320 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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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