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

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) had its target price cut by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $45.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.93% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on NWN. StockNews.com upgraded 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 lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NWN stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.15. 9,355 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 277,941. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.59. Northwest Natural has a fifty-two week low of $34.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. 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 previous year, the business earned ($0.65) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Northwest Natural will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Northwest Natural

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWN. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of 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 stake in Northwest Natural in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is owned by 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.