Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $2.30 Million Stock Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $2,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. OLD Republic International Corp bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $44.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $38.03 and a twelve month high of $45.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.65 and its 200 day moving average is $41.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $236.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total value of $328,403.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,030,073.86. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,430 shares of company stock worth $1,154,608. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northwest Natural Gas Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.