KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Position in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter worth $2,942,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter valued at about $331,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.7% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 57,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter valued at about $48,551,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 8.0% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 1,769 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.4%

Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $45.38 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $38.03 and a 1-year high of $45.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $236.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.70 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.34%. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.950 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This is a boost from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 10,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $472,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,336,490. The trade was a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 42,869 shares of company stock worth $1,849,363 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Company 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.