Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Price Target Lowered to $44.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) had its target price cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $45.00 to $44.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

NWN has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN traded up $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $41.09. The stock had a trading volume of 134,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,570. Northwest Natural has a 12-month low of $34.82 and a 12-month high of $42.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.60.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.65) earnings per share. Northwest Natural’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northwest Natural will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is 92.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 173.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the first quarter worth $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Northwest Natural by 155.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.