Regency Capital Management Inc. DE Buys Shares of 74,078 Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Regency Capital Management Inc. DE bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 74,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,942,000. Northwest Natural Gas accounts for 1.5% of Regency Capital Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE owned 0.18% of Northwest Natural Gas at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Northwest Natural Gas by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,537,000 after acquiring an additional 5,317 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 24.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 10.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 105,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,496,000 after buying an additional 9,612 shares during the period. Finally, IMS Capital Management purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter valued at approximately $564,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Northwest Natural Gas to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NWN opened at $44.10 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12 month low of $38.03 and a 12 month high of $45.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.53.

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

Northwest Natural Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.47%.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,795 shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total value of $328,403.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,922 shares in the company, valued at $3,030,073.86. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,430 shares of company stock valued at $1,154,608. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas 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.