Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company by 74.2%, now holding 9,400 shares valued at $402,000 after selling 27,100 shares in the first quarter.
• In recent earnings, Northwest Natural Gas reported $2.28 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.09, alongside a 14% year-over-year revenue increase to $494.28 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, with a dividend yield of 4.9%, and a payout ratio currently at 77.78%.

TD Asset Management Inc cut its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 74.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,100 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings 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 period. 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

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total value of $311,155.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 102,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,192,908.09. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 22,591 shares of company stock valued at $923,455 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NWN shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $40.23 on Tuesday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $37.41 and a 52 week high of $44.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.68 and a 200-day moving average of $41.25.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid 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 77.78%.

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.

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