Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $49.79 and traded as high as $50.10. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $49.8890, with a volume of 169,279 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Freedom Capital raised shares of Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

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 company’s fifty day moving average is $51.49 and its 200 day moving average is $49.79. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.43.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). Northwest Natural Gas had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 9.56%.The firm had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.57 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Northwest Natural Gas’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Gas Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural Gas news, VP David A. Weber sold 1,700 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president directly owned 149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,832.93. The trade was a 91.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural Gas during the first quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 54.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 201,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,732,000 after acquiring an additional 70,773 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 140.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 6,858 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 16.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 5,835 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Northwest Natural Gas by 34.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 10,798 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.