Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN Shares Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 206.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,439 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 20,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 25,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $47.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.19 and its 200-day moving average is $41.91. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $38.03 and a 12 month high of $47.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. Equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is currently 77.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,060,736.58. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,869 shares of company stock worth $1,882,588. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.