Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $50.01 and traded as high as $50.05. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $50.0350, with a volume of 232,871 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Mizuho began coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Huntington assumed coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.86.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.66 and a 200 day moving average of $50.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $243.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.87 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4925. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Anderson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.71, for a total value of $73,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 47,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,340.89. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $221,400. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 743,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,669 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $24,160,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,287,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 54.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 201,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,732,000 after buying an additional 70,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 12.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 194,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,557,000 after buying an additional 22,055 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

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.