Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Buys 13,421 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,421 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned 0.22% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $4,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 30,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE NWN opened at $50.62 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 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.