Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Stock strength and analyst sentiment: Shares hit a new 52-week intraday high of $57.23 (last $53.94) and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $53.33 target, after several firms (BTIG, Weiss, Stifel) issued upgrades or raised targets.
• Earnings and guidance: Q4 EPS beat slightly at $1.39 vs. $1.36 expected while revenue missed ($394.2M vs. $419.4M), and management set FY2026 guidance of $2.95–3.15 EPS versus sell-side forecasts of about $2.33 for the current fiscal year.
• Dividends and ownership: The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.4925 (3.7% yield) with a payout ratio around 70.9% (the article’s headline flagged a dividend cut), insiders have recently sold shares while institutional ownership stands at ~75% with several large funds boosting positions.

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $57.23 and last traded at $53.9380, with a volume of 234 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $394.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $419.36 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 8.79%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,832.93. This trade represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $26,885,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 6,616.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 455,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,294,000 after acquiring an additional 448,796 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 587,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,437,000 after acquiring an additional 250,025 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3,319.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 211,536 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,887,000 after acquiring an additional 205,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 224.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 286,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,386,000 after acquiring an additional 198,074 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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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