Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Short Interest Down 34.0% in August

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas Company saw a 34.0% decrease in short interest in August, with totals dropping from 1.4 million shares to 923,400 shares.
• Research analysts have given the stock an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $48.00, following upgrades from Zacks Research and Stifel Nicolaus.
• Despite a quarterly earnings report showing a profit of $0.01 per share, the company’s revenue of $236.19 million fell short of estimates, leading to a set guidance of 2.750-2.950 EPS for FY 2025.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 923,400 shares, adecreaseof34.0% from the July 31st total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 293,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 293,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NWN shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total value of $306,216.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 79,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,222,958.31. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,574 shares of company stock valued at $918,517. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.79. The company had a trading volume of 263,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,698. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68. Northwest Natural Gas has a fifty-two week low of $38.03 and a fifty-two week high of $44.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.99 and its 200-day moving average is $41.32. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.47%.

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.

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