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

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 27,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in Northwest Natural by 131.7% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 50,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 28,493 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 98,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,024,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth $232,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the third quarter worth $7,390,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Northwest Natural by 42.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Northwest Natural Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $41.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.61. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $44.25.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last released 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 company had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.47 million. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. Northwest Natural’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.65) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

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

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.