Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN Shares Sold by Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,887 shares during the quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northwest Natural Gas were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the third quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $48.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.43. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1 year low of $39.29 and a 1 year high of $55.99.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.Northwest Natural Gas’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is presently 67.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural Gas

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $89,369.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.