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

Key Points

• New 52-week high: Northwest Natural reached a new 52-week high of $53.66 and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" from analysts (3 Buys, 2 Holds) with an average price target of $53.33; Stifel recently raised its target to $58.
• Big dividend increase: The quarterly dividend was raised to $1.97 (from $0.49), implying an annualized $7.88 and a ~14.7% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of about 70.9%.
• Mixed quarterly results and guidance: Q results showed EPS of $1.39 (beating by $0.03) while revenue missed at $394.2M, and the company set FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.95–3.15 (analysts expect ~2.33 for the current year).

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $53.66 and last traded at $53.4510, with a volume of 97004 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NWN. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.33.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business's 50 day moving average is $50.00 and its 200 day moving average is $47.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 0.54.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $394.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $419.36 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $89,369.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,832.93. This represents a 91.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $26,885,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 6,616.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 455,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,294,000 after buying an additional 448,796 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 period. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $13,386,000 after acquiring an additional 198,074 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.