Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 72.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 32,212 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter worth $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.18, for a total transaction of $76,770.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,674,615.62. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 2.8%

NWN stock opened at $50.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $39.63 and a 1-year high of $55.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $243.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. Research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 65.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Northwest Natural Gas

Here are the key news stories impacting Northwest Natural Gas this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings exceeded expectations. Northwest Natural reported second-quarter EPS of $0.01, ahead of the $0.08-per-share loss analysts expected. Revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $243.55 million, although it fell short of the $271.87 million consensus estimate. Northwest Natural tops earnings estimates despite revenue shortfall
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects stronger full-year execution. Northwest Natural maintained 2026 EPS guidance of $2.95 to $3.15 and said results are expected in the upper half of that range, compared with the analyst consensus of approximately $3.05. Northwest Natural targets top half of 2026 EPS range
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded the stock. The firm raised its rating from “underweight” to “equal weight,” reducing a prior negative stance and setting a $50 price target. Benzinga report
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term growth initiatives continue. The company is advancing its MX3 project toward a potential notice to proceed by the end of 2027, but the project is not expected to materially affect near-term results. MX3 project update
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates. Despite the EPS beat, quarterly revenue was meaningfully below expectations, highlighting softer-than-anticipated operating performance and limiting the upside from the earnings report.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation upside appears limited based on Wells Fargo’s target. The $50 price target implies approximately 1.4% downside from the recent $50.72 trading level, supporting a cautious “equal weight” outlook rather than a bullish call.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NWN. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

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.