Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,314 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,314 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $7,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,421,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $164,572,000 after buying an additional 71,214 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Northwest Natural in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,031,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 58.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in 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 during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $41.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 1-year low of $34.82 and a 1-year high of $42.56.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.65) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. This is an increase from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is 92.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northwest Natural from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

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.