Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells 1,500 Shares of Company Stock

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.71, for a total value of $73,065.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,326,340.89. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

David Hugo Anderson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 18th, David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $72,045.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.86, for a total transaction of $76,290.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $48.77. 204,245 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,625. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $44.45 and a 1-year high of $55.99. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.40.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4925. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Northwest Natural Gas from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research set a $56.00 price target on Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Huntington assumed coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.80.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $71,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural Gas

Northwest Natural Gas Company, operating as NW Natural and a subsidiary of Northwest Natural Holding Company, is an energy and utility company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Its principal business is the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NW Natural serves communities primarily in Oregon and southwest Washington through a regulated natural gas distribution system. The company also provides related services, including natural gas storage and programs focused on renewable natural gas and other lower-carbon energy solutions.

The company traces its history to 1859 and has expanded beyond its traditional natural gas operations through investments in water and wastewater utilities.