Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Invests $48.55 Million in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. invested approximately $48.55 million in Northwest Natural Gas Company, acquiring over 1.2 million shares during the second quarter.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported $0.01 EPS for the recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.96 and a yield of 4.4%.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,222,340 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $48,551,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 3.03% of Northwest Natural Gas as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $16,007,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 1,493.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 368,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,749,000 after buying an additional 345,526 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $7,851,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 61.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 223,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,536,000 after buying an additional 85,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 5,225.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,082,000 after buying an additional 70,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NWN opened at $44.44 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $38.03 and a 52 week high of $45.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's fifty day moving average is $41.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.52.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%.The company had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is currently 77.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Zacks Research raised Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 4,233 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total value of $190,527.33. Following the sale, the director owned 67,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,681.89. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,430 shares of company stock valued at $1,154,608. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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