StockNews.com Lowers Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northwest Natural presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.40.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $35.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.57. Northwest Natural has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $44.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.27. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.13). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $433.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.81 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.53%.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 173.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 17.3% during the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in Northwest Natural by 46.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 25,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 8,173 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Northwest Natural by 15.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Northwest Natural by 30.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 7,715 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.