Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Director Sells $358,090.60 in Stock

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $358,090.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,954 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,944.30. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Monday, October 20th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total transaction of $347,925.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $472,905.00.
• On Friday, October 10th, David Hugo Anderson sold 4,930 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $221,850.00.
• On Wednesday, October 1st, David Hugo Anderson sold 328 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $14,760.00.
• On Tuesday, September 30th, David Hugo Anderson sold 4,233 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total transaction of $190,527.33.
• On Thursday, September 18th, David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total transaction of $328,403.35.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 0.2%

NWN traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.56. 203,536 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,612. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a one year low of $38.03 and a one year high of $48.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $164.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.66 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.71) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the third quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.67.

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.