Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $265,000 Stake in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 57.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,300 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $39.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 0.55. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $37.41 and a 12 month high of $44.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.25.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In other news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $314,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,291 shares in the company, valued at $3,662,730.36. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,591 shares of company stock valued at $923,455. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.