5,005 Shares in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Acquired by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 173.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.2 %

NWN opened at $40.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.35. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $41.25.

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

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.45%.

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.