Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys 1,460 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 18.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $275,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 29,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 6,249 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 3.1% during the first quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 25,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $472,905.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,336,490. The trade was a 16.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 42,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,934,461 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $49.47 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12-month low of $38.03 and a 12-month high of $49.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.20 and its 200-day moving average is $42.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.09. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $164.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.71) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is currently 78.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. BTIG Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.67.

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.