UPDATE: Brean Murray Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on Northwest Natural Gas

In a report published Monday, Brean Murray, Carret & Co. reiterated its Buy rating on Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN), but slightly lowered its price target from $53.00 to $52.00.

Brean Murray noted, “2Q12 results for Northwest Natural Gas fell just short of expectations. EPS of $0.05 was below our $0.11 forecast, and consensus of $0.16. That said, operating margins showed YoY improvement (24.8% versus 24.1%), despite slightly higher O&M expenses. All‐in, a solid performance in a seasonally weak period, and we note that the company reaffirmed its 2012 EPS guidance range of $2.35 ‐ $2.55...Looking forward, we are maintaining our Buy rating but lowering our target price from $53 to $52, based on the shares attaining a level of 19x our 2013 EPS estimate of $2.75. Risks to the achievement of our target price include the regulatory environment, weather impacts, inherent operational risks, and proposed climate change legislations.”

Northwest Natural Gas closed on Friday at $48.84.