Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $394,000 Holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 22.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,739 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 615,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,334,000 after buying an additional 46,135 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after buying an additional 11,160 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $186,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $39.64 on Tuesday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $35.11 and a 1-year high of $44.38. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.96.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $464.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.68, for a total transaction of $297,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 94,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,761,306.88. The trade was a 7.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 22,591 shares of company stock worth $931,255 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.