Fifth Third Bancorp Has $1.23 Million Holdings in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 1,660.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,724 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.05% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas in the 1st quarter worth about $774,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $370,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 258,150.0% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 5,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter valued at about $153,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $51.56 on Friday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 52-week low of $39.29 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The firm had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Profile

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN), commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.