Vanguard Group Inc. Has $219.96 Million Stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Northwest Natural Gas stake slightly in the fourth quarter, but it still held 4.7 million shares valued at about $220 million, or roughly 11.3% of the company.
• Analysts are broadly positive on NWN, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57 after several recent upgrades and reiterated buy ratings.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, implying a 3.9% annual yield.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,706,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 52,791 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.34% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $219,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the third quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Freedom Capital raised Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 149 shares in the company, valued at $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,704 shares of company stock worth $89,579. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:NWN opened at $50.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.47. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $39.10 and a twelve month high of $55.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $52.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

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

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.

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