LSV Asset Management Buys 63,500 Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) by 738.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,500 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.18% of Northwest Natural Gas worth $3,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NWN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 21.6% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Gas Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas stock opened at $50.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 12-month low of $38.94 and a 12-month high of $50.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.21.

Northwest Natural Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This is an increase from Northwest Natural Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented 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 report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Northwest Natural Gas from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.