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

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.87 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 up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.21. The stock had a trading volume of 87,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,498. 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 50 day simple moving average of $49.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas has a 1 year low of $39.29 and a 1 year high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total value of $76,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,674,615.62. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $607,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company 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.