Inspire Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company by 40.4% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 18,723 shares, bringing their total to 65,112 shares valued at approximately $2.78 million.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported $2.28 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.09, with a revenue of $494.28 million, representing a 14.0% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 4.80%, to be paid on August 15th to shareholders of record on July 31st.

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 40.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 18,723 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,151,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,312 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $605,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $40.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.53. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1 year low of $37.41 and a 1 year high of $44.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. Northwest Natural Gas's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NWN shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on 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 boosted their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total value of $311,155.09. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 102,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,192,908.09. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,591 shares of company stock valued at $923,455. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas 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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