Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.55 and traded as high as $50.67. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $49.9750, with a volume of 282,757 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.58.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,832.93. This represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 33.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 266,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,974,000 after buying an additional 66,630 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 738.4% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 72,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,239,000 after purchasing an additional 63,500 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 1,061.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 165,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,716,000 after purchasing an additional 150,867 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 6,616.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 455,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,294,000 after purchasing an additional 448,796 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 22.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 267,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,036,000 after purchasing an additional 49,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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.