William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New $26.89 Million Investment in Northwest Natural Gas Company $NWN

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 575,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,885,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Up 0.1%

NWN opened at $49.98 on Tuesday. Northwest Natural Gas Company has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $55.99. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.46 and a 200-day moving average of $49.63.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.07). The business 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 firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Northwest Natural Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.4925 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Northwest Natural Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NWN shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Northwest Natural Gas from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Freedom Capital raised Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Insider Activity at Northwest Natural Gas

In related news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,832.93. This represents a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,704 shares of company stock valued at $89,579 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.