18,400 Shares in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 18,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $979,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $49.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a fifty-two week low of $39.29 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given 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 was Thursday, April 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is currently 67.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Profile

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.