Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 48.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,768 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.12% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $2,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abound Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. OLD Republic International Corp purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $201,000. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $204,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have commented on NWN. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. 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 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on NWN
Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas
In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,958.31. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 22,574 shares of company stock valued at $918,517 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.
Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance
Shares of NYSE NWN traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.60. The company had a trading volume of 230,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 225,994. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $38.03 and a twelve month high of $44.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%.The company had revenue of $236.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.47%.
About Northwest Natural Gas
(
Free Report)
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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