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

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

Several other analysts have also recently commented on NWN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $41.15 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.62. Northwest Natural has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $42.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter valued at $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,390,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 113.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 125,000 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at $5,068,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Northwest Natural by 406.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 144,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,207,000 after purchasing an additional 115,698 shares in 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.