LSV Asset Management Acquires 63,500 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 738.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,500 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $3,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 29,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 132,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,970,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NWN opened at $50.39 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.21. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $38.94 and a 12 month high of $50.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.97 dividend. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NWN shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.