Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 702 Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Northwest Natural worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NWN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,350,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $169,404,000 after acquiring an additional 65,443 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 465,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,127,000 after purchasing an additional 26,540 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 448,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 392,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,284,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 26.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 362,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,823,000 after buying an additional 74,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Price Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $39.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a 52 week low of $34.82 and a 52 week high of $44.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.13). Northwest Natural had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $433.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.488 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NWN. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northwest Natural from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.40.

Northwest Natural 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.