UBS Group AG Acquires 21,194 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 21,194 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 76,226 shares worth about $3.56 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $55.25, though Wells Fargo recently initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and a $50 target.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported slightly weaker-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $2.33 versus $2.40 expected and revenue of $490.4 million versus $538.6 million expected, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share for a 3.9% yield.

UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,194 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.18% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $3,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NWN shares. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,832.93. This represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock worth $89,579 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $49.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.47. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $55.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $52.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.58.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Northwest Natural Gas's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. Research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is 67.24%.

Northwest Natural Gas Profile

Northwest Natural Gas NYSE: NWN, commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.