Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Upgraded to Strong Sell at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo downgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong sell” rating, even though the broader analyst view remains a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $55.25.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $2.33 versus the $2.40 estimate and revenue of $490.4 million below the $538.57 million forecast.
• Shares opened at $50.14, below the stock’s 52-week high of $55.99, while insiders and institutions continue to show activity; notably, a vice president sold shares and institutional investors own 75.13% of the stock.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NWN stock opened at $50.14 on Monday. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12 month low of $39.10 and a 12 month high of $55.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.47.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The firm had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 43,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 8,657 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 743,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,669 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 82,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,235,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

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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