Ingalls & Snyder LLC Decreases Stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Northwest Natural by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 13,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 7.5% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Northwest Natural by 4.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Northwest Natural by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 75.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of Northwest Natural stock opened at $42.95 on Wednesday. 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 Holding has a 1 year low of $34.82 and a 1 year high of $44.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.61.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The utilities provider reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $136.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.65) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio is 92.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

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.