Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.40.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $36.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.15.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $433.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.81 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the first quarter valued at $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Northwest Natural by 686.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the fourth quarter worth $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.