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

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas shares reached a new 52-week high of $46.68 during trading, with a current trade at $46.62 amid a volume of 212,917 shares.
• Analysts have assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $48.00, with only one analyst rating the stock as a Buy.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4925, representing a dividend yield of 4.2%, which is an increase from its previous dividend of $0.49.

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $46.68 and last traded at $46.62, with a volume of 212917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NWN. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.57. 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 (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $472,905.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,336,490. The trade was a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 35,369 shares of company stock worth $1,534,663 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during 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 in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter worth $38,000. 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

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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