Picton Mahoney Asset Management Has $1.16 Million Stake in 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 shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 93,572.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,136 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned approximately 0.07% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $275,000. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 65,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 18,723 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $214,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 49,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,112,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 72.8% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 6,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,662,730.36. This trade represents a 7.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,591 shares of company stock valued at $923,455. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NWN traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.88. The company had a trading volume of 261,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 0.53. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $37.41 and a twelve month high of $44.38. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $40.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.23.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.49 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 77.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.