5,853 Shares in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 44.1% during the first quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Abound Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 113,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,858,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.6%

Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $41.54 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a twelve month low of $37.41 and a twelve month high of $44.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is 77.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.68, for a total transaction of $297,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 94,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,761,306.88. This represents a 7.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 22,591 shares of company stock worth $931,255 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.