Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Holdings Lifted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,198 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.22% of Northwest Natural worth $3,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NWN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the first quarter valued at $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 686.5% in 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. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $40.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.82. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52-week low of $34.82 and a 52-week high of $41.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $211.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.99 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 6.31%. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is 85.53%.

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.