Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $48.60 and last traded at $48.4340, with a volume of 106530 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.67.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.38 and its 200-day moving average is $42.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

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 analyst estimates of $174.66 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $472,905.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,336,490. The trade was a 16.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,763 shares of company stock worth $1,934,461. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the third quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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.