Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells $190,527.33 in Stock

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Director David Hugo Anderson sold 4,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total transaction of $190,527.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,681.89. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

David Hugo Anderson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 1st, David Hugo Anderson sold 328 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $14,760.00.
• On Thursday, September 18th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total transaction of $328,403.35.
• On Tuesday, August 19th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total transaction of $306,216.82.
• On Monday, July 21st, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $314,700.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $44.44 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.52. 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 Company has a one year low of $38.03 and a one year high of $45.07. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.57.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The firm had revenue of $236.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NWN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 137,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,457,000 after acquiring an additional 10,094 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 66,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,640,000 after acquiring an additional 3,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 523.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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.