Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas's share price reached a new 52-week high at $45.07, reflecting positive investor interest with a recent trading volume of 181,658 shares.
• The company reported its quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.01, surpassing analysts' expectations and has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS.
• Northwest Natural Gas also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.49, yielding 4.4%, with a payout ratio of 77.47% reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $45.07 and last traded at $44.41, with a volume of 181658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 77.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total value of $328,403.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 71,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,030,073.86. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 22,869 shares of company stock valued at $949,320 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 7.6% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.5% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 20,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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