Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) to a "Hold", and the analyst consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $54.50 (three Buy ratings, four Hold ratings).
• In the latest quarter NWN reported EPS of $1.39, beating estimates by $0.03 while revenue missed expectations, and it set FY2026 guidance at 2.95–3.15 EPS (analysts expect ~3.05).
• Insider activity shows recent selling — the VP sold 1,700 shares in March and insiders sold ~1,704 shares in the last 90 days — while institutional investors hold about 75% of the stock.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Freedom Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.50.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NYSE:NWN opened at $52.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.47. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $52.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.19. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12-month low of $39.10 and a 12-month high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were 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. This represents a 91.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock worth $89,579. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.