Intech Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 13,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 12,044.4% during 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. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 155.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 257.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northwest Natural Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $43.82 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.58. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $43.00 in a research note 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

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.