Northwest Natural Gas Company to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.49 (NYSE:NWN)

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.49 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st.

Northwest Natural Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 64.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Northwest Natural Gas to earn $2.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.4%.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.7%

Northwest Natural Gas stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.51. 270,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,654. Northwest Natural Gas has a 52-week low of $37.41 and a 52-week high of $44.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company's 50-day moving average is $40.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.02.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.68, for a total value of $297,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 94,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,761,306.88. This represents a 7.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 22,591 shares of company stock worth $931,255 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 650.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 56,314 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 5.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 5,644 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 17.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 164,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,037,000 after acquiring an additional 24,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.