David Hugo Anderson Sells 7,468 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Stock

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $358,090.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 36,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,771,944.30. This trade represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, October 20th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total value of $347,925.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $472,905.00.
• On Friday, October 10th, David Hugo Anderson sold 4,930 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $221,850.00.
• 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 value of $14,760.00.
• On Tuesday, September 30th, David Hugo Anderson sold 4,233 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total value of $190,527.33.
• On Thursday, September 18th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total value of $328,403.35.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NWN stock opened at $47.10 on Thursday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.03 and a fifty-two week high of $48.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $164.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.66 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.71) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research raised Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 5.9% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 70,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,938 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the third quarter worth $675,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the third quarter valued at $1,076,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $277,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.