Key Points
- David Weber sold 1,700 shares of Northwest Natural Gas on March 23 at an average price of $52.57 for $89,369, cutting his stake by 91.94% to 149 shares.
- The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.97 (up from $0.49), implying an annualized $7.88 payout and a roughly 15.0% yield.
- Northwest Natural reported quarterly EPS of $1.39, beating estimates by $0.03, set FY2026 guidance of 2.95–3.15 EPS, and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $53.33 price target.
Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) VP David Weber sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $89,369.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Northwest Natural Gas Price Performance
NWN stock opened at $52.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.72. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1 year low of $38.94 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.29.
Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $394.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $419.36 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 8.79%.Northwest Natural Gas's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.0%. Northwest Natural Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.86%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NWN shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.33.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on NWN
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $342,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $1,017,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Finally, VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter worth $399,000. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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