Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Hold (C)" Rating for Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Hold (C)" rating for Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN), indicating a neutral outlook on the stock.
• The company's quarterly earnings showed a profit of $0.01 per share, surpassing expectations, despite revenue falling short compared to analyst estimates.
• Recent insider transactions revealed that Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares, reducing his ownership by over 14% in the company.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.67.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:NWN opened at $47.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural Gas has a 1-year low of $38.03 and a 1-year high of $47.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $43.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

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

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total transaction of $347,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,060,736.58. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 42,869 shares of company stock worth $1,882,588 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.

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