MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company by 1,493.6%, acquiring an additional 345,526 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 0.91% of the company.
• Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas, resulting in an 8.68% decrease in his ownership, as insider selling totaled 22,574 shares worth $918,517 over the past three months.
• Northwest Natural Gas recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, which equates to an annual dividend yield of 4.7% and a payout ratio of approximately 77.47%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 1,493.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 368,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 345,526 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.91% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $15,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abound Wealth Management bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Republic International Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter worth about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total value of $306,216.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 79,717 shares in the company, valued at $3,222,958.31. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,574 shares of company stock worth $918,517. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NWN traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.31. 241,475 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 275,377. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company's fifty day moving average price is $40.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.29. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52-week low of $38.03 and a 52-week high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $252.70 million. 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 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is currently 77.47%.

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.