Brokerages Set Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Price Target at $57.00

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.25.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $89,369.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,832.93. This trade represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NWN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 95.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NWN stock opened at $48.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.48. Northwest Natural Gas has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $55.99.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is 67.24%.

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.