Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) Stock Price

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) had its target price trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $45.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NWN opened at $41.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $42.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted 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 company had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.65) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Northwest Natural will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. 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. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,421,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $164,572,000 after purchasing an additional 71,214 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,031,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 475,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,680,000 after buying an additional 27,000 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 58.8% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 65,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 24,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 113.2% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 235,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,762,000 after acquiring an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural

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.