Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.79 and traded as high as $50.10. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $49.8890, with a volume of 169,279 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NWN. TD Cowen began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.49 and a 200-day moving average of $49.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas's payout ratio is 67.24%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 149 shares in the company, valued at $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,554,000 after buying an additional 5,644 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 17.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 164,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,037,000 after buying an additional 24,906 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 650.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 56,314 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 28.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the second quarter valued at $1,431,000. 75.13% of the stock is 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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