Insider Selling: Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells $73,065.00 in Stock

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.71, for a total value of $73,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,340.89. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Friday, September 18th, David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $72,045.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.86, for a total transaction of $76,290.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $49.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.40. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The company had revenue of $243.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4925. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 65.67%.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $504,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 27,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on NWN shares. Morgan Stanley cut Northwest Natural Gas to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Huntington assumed coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research set a $56.00 target price on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Gas Company, operating as NW Natural and a subsidiary of Northwest Natural Holding Company, is an energy and utility company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Its principal business is the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NW Natural serves communities primarily in Oregon and southwest Washington through a regulated natural gas distribution system. The company also provides related services, including natural gas storage and programs focused on renewable natural gas and other lower-carbon energy solutions.

The company traces its history to 1859 and has expanded beyond its traditional natural gas operations through investments in water and wastewater utilities.