Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from “underweight” to “equal weight” and set a $50 price target, implying approximately 1.19% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $55.25.
• Northwest Natural Gas exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.01 versus the projected $(0.08), although revenue of $243.55 million fell short of estimates. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.95–$3.15.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $50.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 1.19% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on NWN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:NWN opened at $49.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. Northwest Natural Gas has a one year low of $39.29 and a one year high of $55.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.87 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.Northwest Natural Gas's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $76,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,615.62. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 197.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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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