StockNews.com Upgrades Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NWN. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $41.25.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.39. 286,018 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 298,591. Northwest Natural has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $41.66. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.14 and a 200-day moving average of $37.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The company’s revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.53%.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 173.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 686.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Northwest Natural during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.