William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management opened a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter, buying 575,198 shares worth about $26.9 million and taking a 1.39% stake.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $2.33 missing estimates and revenue of $490.4 million below expectations. The company also set FY 2026 EPS guidance at 2.95 to 3.15.
• The stock remains a focus for analysts and income investors: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $55.25 price target, and the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, reflecting a 3.9% annualized yield.

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 575,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,885,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.39% of Northwest Natural Gas at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NWN. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $49.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.63. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.24%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,704 shares of company stock worth $89,579 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Company 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.

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