R Squared Ltd Makes New $774,000 Investment in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 14,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth about $370,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 258,150.0% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,163 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter worth approximately $153,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 13.1% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth approximately $979,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NWN traded up $1.58 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,261. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $39.29 and a twelve month high of $55.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.03.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is 67.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas 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.