Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The business had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.77. 81,484 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,452. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas has a twelve month low of $39.29 and a twelve month high of $55.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.59.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is currently 67.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Freedom Capital raised 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 initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $76,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,674,615.62. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NWN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 74.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 587,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,437,000 after acquiring an additional 250,025 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3,319.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 211,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,887,000 after purchasing an additional 205,350 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 224.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 286,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after purchasing an additional 198,074 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2,279.2% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 150,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 144,094 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 6.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,083,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $82,749,000 after purchasing an additional 131,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.