Jump Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company by 87.1%, owning 23,483 shares valued at approximately $1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Northwest Natural Gas recently reported its quarterly earnings, showing a net margin of 8.34% and earnings per share that exceeded analysts' expectations, despite revenue falling short of estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.7% and a payout ratio of 77.47%.

Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 87.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,934 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.1% in the first quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 25,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.21. 67,045 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,058. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 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. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $40.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 79,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,958.31. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,574 shares of company stock worth $918,517. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.