Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Upgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Northwest Natural Gas has received a "hold" rating upgrade from Zacks Research, suggesting a cautious view on the stock's potential moving forward.
• Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target for Northwest Natural Gas shares from $45.00 to $49.00 with a "buy" recommendation, indicating positive sentiment from analysts.
• The company reported a profit of $0.01 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, although it fell short of revenue projections with $236.19 million reported.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, August 12th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Northwest Natural Gas stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,724. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.55. Northwest Natural Gas has a twelve month low of $38.03 and a twelve month high of $44.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.25.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The firm had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $314,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,662,730.36. This trade represents a 7.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 137,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,457,000 after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.3% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 66,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,640,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 523.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 208.1% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 26,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 18,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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.