Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires 27,136 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management dramatically increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company by 93,572.4%, bringing its total shareholding to 27,165 shares valued at approximately $1.16 million.
• Northwest Natural Gas recently reported earnings of $2.28 per share, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.19, and experienced a 14% revenue growth compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing a yield of 4.83%, with the payment scheduled for August 15th.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 93,572.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,136 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned 0.07% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,537,000 after buying an additional 5,317 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,160 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $186,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.88. The stock had a trading volume of 261,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,055. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $37.41 and a 12 month high of $44.38. The business's 50-day moving average is $40.69 and its 200 day moving average is $41.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83 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.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $314,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 87,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,662,730.36. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 22,591 shares of company stock worth $923,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of 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 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.