Insider Selling: Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells 7,500 Shares of Stock

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.68, for a total transaction of $297,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 94,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,761,306.88. The trade was a 7.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, May 21st, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total value of $311,155.09.
• On Monday, April 21st, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $322,500.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NWN opened at $39.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $35.11 and a twelve month high of $44.38. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $41.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $464.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 1.5% in the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 20,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.