Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 161,000 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN
Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN — Free Report) by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 940,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,000 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 2.33% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $37,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,755,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,170,000 after buying an additional 42,115 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter worth $48,551,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 956,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 634,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,111,000 after acquiring an additional 19,496 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $16,007,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.
Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.5%
Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $48.02 on Monday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $38.03 and a 12 month high of $48.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.57.
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN — Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.09. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The company had revenue of $164.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.71) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.49%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas
In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.39, for a total value of $347,925.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 44,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,060,736.58. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 42,869 shares of company stock worth $1,882,588 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
NWN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 note on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.67.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Northwest Natural Gas
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.
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