Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 238.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $7,851,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 61.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 223,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,536,000 after purchasing an additional 85,132 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 5,225.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 70,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 110,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,358,000 after purchasing an additional 49,140 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas
In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total value of $314,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,662,730.36. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 22,591 shares of company stock valued at $923,455 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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 price target 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.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Northwest Natural Gas
Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 1.0%
Northwest Natural Gas stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Monday, hitting $40.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 272,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,339. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.57 and its 200 day moving average is $41.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $37.41 and a 1-year high of $44.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.55.
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.
Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.47%.
Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile
(
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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