Analysts Set Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) PT at $55.25

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.25.

NWN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 5,644 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 164,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,037,000 after acquiring an additional 24,906 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 650.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 56,314 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,431,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NWN opened at $51.37 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.88 and its 200 day moving average is $50.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas has a 12-month low of $39.29 and a 12-month high of $55.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

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

About Northwest Natural Gas

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.