Insider Selling: Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells $76,770.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 Northwest Natural Gas shares for approximately $76,770, reducing his stake by 2.79% to 52,259 shares.
• Northwest Natural Gas reported quarterly EPS of $2.33, below the $2.40 consensus estimate, while revenue of $490.4 million also fell short of expectations and declined 0.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.97 payout and a 3.7% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $55.25 average price target.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $76,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,674,615.62. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NWN traded up $1.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.55. The stock had a trading volume of 58,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,018. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $39.29 and a 1-year high of $55.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.44.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is 67.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,644 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 164,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,037,000 after buying an additional 24,906 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 650.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 56,314 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 28.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $1,431,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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