Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $55.80

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.80.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NWN. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Northwest Natural Gas from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Huntington initiated coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $72,045.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,909.77. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $225,105 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 67,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 65,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,476,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $47.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.35. Northwest Natural Gas has a twelve month low of $43.78 and a twelve month high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4925. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.67%.

About Northwest Natural Gas

Northwest Natural Gas Company, doing business as NW Natural, is a regulated natural gas distribution utility serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company delivers natural gas through its pipeline system and provides related services, including energy-efficiency programs, appliance services, and solutions designed to support safe and efficient natural gas use.

Founded in 1859, NW Natural has developed a long-standing presence in the Pacific Northwest. Its natural gas utility operations primarily serve communities in Oregon and southwest Washington.