Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) Short Interest Up 54.5% in July

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,400,000 shares, anincreaseof54.5% from the July 15th total of 906,300 shares. Currently,3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 299,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 299,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently,3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NWN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.43, for a total transaction of $306,216.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 79,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,958.31. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,574 shares of company stock worth $918,517. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 0.0%

NWN stock opened at $40.65 on Thursday. Northwest Natural Gas has a 1-year low of $38.03 and a 1-year high of $44.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.24.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $236.19 million for 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. Research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 77.47%.

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.