Insider Selling: Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells 10,509 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock on October 15th, reducing his ownership by 16.83% and garnering a total of $472,905 from the sale.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.4925 per share, representing a 4.3% yield, with payment scheduled for November 14th.
• Northwest Natural Gas recently reported $0.01 EPS, beating expectations, while also setting FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $472,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 51,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,336,490. This trade represents a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

David Hugo Anderson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 10th, David Hugo Anderson sold 4,930 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $221,850.00.
• On Wednesday, October 1st, David Hugo Anderson sold 328 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $14,760.00.
• On Tuesday, September 30th, David Hugo Anderson sold 4,233 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total transaction of $190,527.33.
• On Thursday, September 18th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total transaction of $328,403.35.
• On Tuesday, August 19th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total transaction of $306,216.82.
• On Monday, July 21st, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $314,700.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.4%

NWN traded up $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.38. The company had a trading volume of 198,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,835. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a one year low of $38.03 and a one year high of $45.67. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $42.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.68.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is currently 77.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NWN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,755,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $203,170,000 after buying an additional 42,115 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,083,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $82,749,000 after acquiring an additional 131,019 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,551,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 956,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 940,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,355,000 after purchasing an additional 161,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% 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.

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