Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Stock Acquired Rep. Earl Blumenauer

Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) recently bought shares of Northwest Natural Holding NYSE: NWN. In a filing disclosed on December 07th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Northwest Natural stock on November 15th.

Representative Earl Blumenauer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Ventas NYSE: VTR on 9/19/2024.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NWN stock traded up $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $42.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 159,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,726. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.14. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $44.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The firm had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.65) EPS. Northwest Natural's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Northwest Natural's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio is 92.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 7,715 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 25,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 8,173 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

About Representative BLUMENAUER

Earl Blumenauer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. He assumed office on May 21, 1996. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Blumenauer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. He was first elected to the House in a special election in 1996. At the start of the 116th Congress, Blumenauer was a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Before joining Congress, Blumenauer was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978, a county commissioner in Multnomah County, Oregon from 1978 to 1985, and a city commissioner in Portland, Oregon from 1986 to 1996. Blumenauer was born in Portland, Oregon, on August 16, 1948. He graduated from Centennial High School in 1966, received a B.A. from Lewis and Clark College in 1970 and his J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1976. He served as assistant to the president of Portland State University from 1970 to 1977.

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.