Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.90 and last traded at $50.1760, with a volume of 223998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.7%. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 78.49%.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 266,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,974,000 after purchasing an additional 66,630 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the second quarter worth $322,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 0.7% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,225,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 577.6% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 266,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,593,000 after acquiring an additional 227,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 27.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 139,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,256,000 after acquiring an additional 30,118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company 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.