Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Price Target Raised to $47.00

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Down 1.7 %

NWN stock opened at $42.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.56. Northwest Natural has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The firm had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $464.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.55%.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, CEO David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total value of $310,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,382 shares in the company, valued at $4,866,657.72. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. This trade represents a 89.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,192 shares of company stock valued at $1,054,793. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 24.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural

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.