Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.25.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital raised Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $51.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.85 and its 200-day moving average is $50.38. Northwest Natural Gas has a 1 year low of $39.29 and a 1 year high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The business had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 197.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

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.