Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) by 17.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 98,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Northwest Natural were worth $4,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NWN. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northwest Natural during the 3rd quarter worth $12,250,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Northwest Natural during the third quarter worth about $7,390,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the third quarter valued at about $5,068,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 406.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 144,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,207,000 after purchasing an additional 115,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 1,040.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 68,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,467,000 after purchasing an additional 62,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

NYSE NWN opened at $43.30 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.99. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $44.25.

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

Northwest Natural Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. This is a boost from Northwest Natural’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Northwest Natural’s payout ratio is presently 92.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Northwest Natural from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $43.00 in a report 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 decreased their price target on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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.