Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN Position Reduced by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company by 48.1%, selling 44,768 shares and now holding only 48,353 shares worth approximately $2.07 million.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.01 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue was below estimates at $236.19 million.
• Northwest Natural Gas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 4.7%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 48.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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 period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $2,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,755,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $203,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42,115 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 3.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 634,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,111,000 after purchasing an additional 19,496 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 238.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 376,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,885,000 after purchasing an additional 265,013 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter worth about $16,007,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 1,493.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 368,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,749,000 after purchasing an additional 345,526 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $42.25. 211,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,516. 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's 50-day moving average is $41.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.59. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $38.03 and a 1-year high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total transaction of $306,216.82. Following the sale, the director owned 79,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,222,958.31. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 22,574 shares of company stock worth $918,517 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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.