Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $334,000 in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has invested approximately $334,000 by acquiring 7,830 shares in Northern Natural Gas Company during the first quarter.
• The company reported a 14.0% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling $494.28 million, and earnings per share of $2.28, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Northwest Natural Gas has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 4.9%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,713,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $186,475,000 after buying an additional 28,078 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,958,000 after purchasing an additional 24,510 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 715,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,323,000 after purchasing an additional 17,391 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 520,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,571,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 238.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 376,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,885,000 after purchasing an additional 265,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.73. 331,450 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 277,270. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $40.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.24. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1 year low of $37.41 and a 1 year high of $44.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 8.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NWN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 22,591 shares of company stock worth $923,455 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.